Smell of mustard oil, half-empty jar — how Delhi Police cracked woman’s murder in 2017
Officers, however, were suspicious and didn’t buy Kanchan’s version. Constant questioning finally made her spill the beans — that she killed her mother-in-law. Then DCP (East) Omvir Singh Bishnoi said Kanchan was arrested within eight hours of the murder.
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The victim, Swarna Kapoor The strong odour of mustard oil from a partially burnt body, a half-open and half-empty oil bottle that looked out of place in an otherwise neat kitchen — these were the clues that led police to suspect that a 62-year-old woman’s murder was probably an inside job.
The case dates back to 2017 in East Delhi’s Mandawali. The victim, Swarna Kapoor, was found dead on the ground floor by her son, Sumit, when he returned home from the office late at night. Officers probing the case at the time told The Indian Express that initially, Swarna’s daughter-in-law Kanchan, who lived in the same building on the first floor, speculated that it could be an accidental death or a burglary gone wrong.
Officers, however, were suspicious and didn’t buy Kanchan’s version. Constant questioning finally made her spill the beans — that she killed her mother-in-law. Then DCP (East) Omvir Singh Bishnoi said Kanchan was arrested within eight hours of the murder.
A senior police officer said, “Kanchan had a troubled relationship with her mother-in-law as the latter used to get irritated by her three grandchildren, all under the age of five years, and the duo often argued over it. Kanchan told us she was also frustrated as she often fought with her husband, who worked at a fast food joint and was the family’s sole breadwinner, over money.”
On September 26 that year, Kanchan was trying to pacify her crying five-year-old and ended up slapping the child.
“Hearing the noise, Swarna shouted at Kanchan… it eventually snowballed into an argument and they hurled abuses at each other. In a fit of rage, Kanchan snatched the elderly woman’s walking stick and hit her on the head with it… Swarna fell unconscious. Realising that her mother-in-law would tell Sumit what happened, she decided to set Swarna’s body on fire,” said another officer.
Officers said for the next 15 minutes, Kanchan frantically searched the kitchen for petrol or kerosene oil but couldn’t find either. Eventually, she grabbed the bottle of mustard oil and poured it all over Swarna before setting the body on fire.
“Two hours later, Sumit got home and found his mother, dead, following which he made a PCR call… The body did not burn completely because of the oil used,” said an officer.
Kanchan tried to feign ignorance and claimed she didn’t hear any noise as she was taking care of the children on the first floor.
“However, police smelt mustard oil on the body. On further inspection, they saw a half-empty oil bottle kept partially open in the kitchen… this made police suspect the murder could be an insider’s job as most of the items in the kitchen were neatly arranged and only the mustard oil was kept outside, which would not have been possible if the suspects were outsiders,” said police sources.
Swarna’s wooden walking stick also had a slight crack, which confirmed the police theory that she was first hit on the head with it before being set on fire. “Eventually, Kanchan broke down and confessed,” said police.
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