4 min readNew DelhiJun 19, 2026 04:41 AM IST
First published on: Jun 19, 2026 at 04:41 AM IST
Kailash hills in South East Delhi is an idyllic neighbourhood by all means: a slope going downwards from the main road turns into small lanes, which mostly have brutalist grey residential buildings. A few of them, however, have picturesque three-floor white DDA houses, surrounded by greens. Block A is one such lane. On the rooftop of one of these buildings, a woman’s body was found in a pool of blood on Thursday morning — her head battered allegedly with a bat by her employer.
The woman was Meena, a house help, and a few meters away from her — on the stairs that lead to the rooftop — sat her employer and alleged killer Dr Manish Gupta: a geeky looking dermatologist who had stints with several skincare giants. On Thursday morning, he had allegedly stabbed Meena after beating her with a bat, allegedly over bringing “bad energy” to the house.
About four hours after police reached the spot, and drove the accused away to the police station, Amit Vohra, a local, was standing outside the building, looking towards the third floor of the building where a blue board mentioning the accused’s qualification hangs.
He recalled a phone conversation with the accused who he has known for about a decade. “I heard that a murder happened near his house. I called to check if he was fine, if his son and wife were fine. But his phone was switched off. I then called a police officer. They said he is the one who is the murderer,” said Vohra, shocked at the actions of his “reticent” and “kind” neighbour.
“Last I spoke to him was a couple of months back. I remember during Covid, we had arranged some oxygen cylinders together. Some were left, and after some months Manish helped us donate it,” said Vohra.
Vohra, who lives a block away, also claimed that the accused held private consultations as a philanthropic gesture. But his private clients mostly came to his house.
Dinesh Verma, who lives on the ground floor of the same building as the accused, said that he never had a proper conversation with him, despite being in close proximity to him for over a decade. “We exchanged greetings while crossing each other sometimes. Today morning, I was in my physiotherapy class. When I came back, there were police personnel all around,” he recalled.
Meena had been working at the house for the past 10 years. She lived in a colony nearby, about a 10 minute walk, which mostly has residents of domestic helps. A native of West Bengal, she lived with her son Robin Halder, and his wife Saptami.
“She always praised Tina ma’am and the family. She said that Tina used to be generous with bonuses, gifts and working hours. She always used to praise the family,” said Saptami, who fainted when she was taken to the rooftop to identify her mother-in-law’s body.
Robin, who works at a store in Nehru Place, was working when he got a call from his wife. “She only worked in three or four houses. She was so happy with how they treated her. I can’t believe this is happening,” he adds.
Domestic helps in the area said that they saw Meena on the morning of the incident. “I work in the same building as her. I saw her at about 8:30 am, when she was cleaning the stairs. I asked her if she wanted to go out after work,” says Shyamoli, one of the house helpers in the area.
At about 11:30 am, Shyamoli saw police rush inside the building. Cops now say that they are questioning Manish, and trying to get to the bottom of his triggers. Further investigation is underway.
“Last I spoke to him was a couple of months back. I remember during Covid, we had arranged some oxygen cylinders together. Some were left, and after some months Manish helped us donate it,” said Vohra.
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