Mumbai crime: 89-year-old man kills ailing wife, mentally challenged daughter

Gandhok lives in a rented apartment at Prem Sandesh society, Sher-e-Punjab Colony, in Andheri East. Pic/Anurag Ahire

The Meghwadi police have arrested an 89-year-old retired Army man for allegedly killing his 86-year-old ailing wife and mentally challenged daughter as he could not see them suffer more. Accused Purshottam Singh Gandhok apparently sat with the bodies for about 12 hours at his Andheri flat as he contemplated suicide. He then called up his other daughter and informed her about the crime.

The police said Gandhok lives in a rented apartment at Prem Sandesh society, She-e-Punjab Colony, in Andheri East. While his elder daughter is married and stays in the same locality, his wife Jasbir Kaur and younger daughter Kamaljeet Kaur, 51, lived with him.

Police sources said Jasbir had angiography and also had knee trouble. She had been bedridden for the past ten years, while Kamaljeet too was completely dependent on her father.

On Sunday, Gandhok fed his wife and daughter around 8 pm. Once they fell asleep, he allegedly slit their throats. He called up his elder daughter Guruvindarkaur Rajbans Anand around 8.30 am the next day and told her that he had killed her mother and sister.

Guruvindarkaur rushed to her father's flat, but Gandhok didn't open the door. He insisted that the police be called.

At Meghawadi police station, a source said, Gandhok told the cops that he was fed up with taking care of the duo and could not see them suffer any longer. He was also worried that who would take care of them if anything happened to him.

"Gandhok tried to take his own life. He sat beside the bodies for 12 hours, but could not muster the courage to kill himself," said an officer from Meghawadi police station.

DCP Mahesh Reddi of Zone 10 told mid-day that they would present Gandhok in a court on Tuesday.

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Date of this month when Gandhok killed his wife and daughter