Bodies of mother, baby found in canal

Bodies of a 20-year-old woman, Hemlata, and her four-month-old daughter Pritika were found in a Maruti Omni van that was said to have accidentally fallen into the Munak Can-al in Outer Delhi’s Bawana area on Tuesday night.

However, Hemlata’s relatives have alleged that they were murdered by Hemlata’s husband Anil before their bodies were thrown into the Munak Canal. So far, the police has detained Anil for questioning at the Narela police station.

According to a police officer, privy to the investigation, the incident came to light at around 10.20 pm when Anil called Hemlata’s brother from an STD booth in the JJ colony, saying that their vehicle fell into the canal. “Hemlata and Pritika were inside the car. Anil told us that he left his mobile phone at Hemlata’s house. Due to which, he made call to her brother from STD,” said an investigating officer.

Calling Hemlata and Pritika’s deaths foul play, a relative said that Anil and Hemlata often fought. Anil was allegedly involved in a relationship with his sister-in-law and that led to frequent quarrels between the couple. Because of this reason, Hemlata came to live with her parents in Nangal Kalan. After a week, Anil called Hemla-ta’s brother, saying that he would come to pick her up and their four-month-old daughter and take them back to Goga village, where he lives.

“They (Anil, Hemlata and Pritika) left home at around 8.30 pm in the Omni van. Two hours later, we got a call that the car had fallen into the canal,” the relative said.