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Journalism of Courage
GURGAON, February 22: A prominent advertising consultant, Sudhir Lal, 56, and his wife, Kiran Lal, 49, were found bludgeoned to death by armed assailants — suspected to be Pardis or Bawarias — at their Sector-17 residence early this morning. The victims were brutally assaulted with heavy objects, probably a bamboo stick and sharp-edged weapons. Police reports say the faces of the victims had been smashed and disfigured beyond recognition.
The police say the killings are similar to the Saket murders and incidents in south-west Delhi which happened last year.Says a neighbour: “The killers even used knives to slit their throats. Then they covered the bodies with a quilt and left.” A relative, Shashi Kohli, says the couple had organised a small get-together at their house yesterday. “The last guests left at around 12.45 a.m. The Lals’servant, Shambhu, said Sudhir had asked him to leave around 2 a.m. The incident took place some time after that,” Kohli told Express Newsline.
The police said there were more than two assaulters. “They entered the house, cut the telephone wires and killed the couple while they were asleep,” said a policeman.
The police believe the motive was robbery. The bodies of the couple were found around 9.30 a.m., when the Lals’ driver reported for duty. He found the front door bolted from outside and shouted for the servant, Shambhu, who has a room upstairs. The driver also became suspicious when he saw a video-cassette recorder lying on the boundary-wall and some broken flower pots in the compound. He then alerted the neighbours, who got into the house and found the bodies lying on a bed in the bedroom in a pool of blood. The whole house had been ransacked, the cupboards had been opened, household articles, books, papers were found scattered all over.
Hours after the bodies were found, a team of Delhi Police personnel, comprising Assistant Commissioner of Police (Najafgarh) Amit Roy, Assistant Commissioner (Operations) B.K. Singh and ACP of District Crime Cell Deepak Purohit, were called in. “At the moment we can only say it looks like the Bawarias or Pardis are involved in this incident,”said Senior Superintendent of Police, Gurgaon, Khushi Ram Dahiya. “I think Sudhir and his wife were caught unawares. He was a strong man and I don’t think that he would have taken it lying down,” said Sunil Lal, his cousin.
Neighbours say the Lals were an affectionate and amiable couple. “They lived alone since their only son, Sidharth, is studying in Canada. Sudhir Lal was prominent in the advertising world and he was reportedly planning to start his own ad-agency,” said Subhash Kohli, a relative.
