On 26th September 2024, the colony WhatsApp groups were abuzz with the news of theft at E-11A, Panchshila Park, the residence of Mrs. Sikand. She lives there along with her lady housekeeper Sattan, who had been with them since 1991. Sikand’s niece, temporarily living in the same premises since August 2024, returned from work, found the house ransacked and cash of appx. Rs. 43000 and Sattan missing. She tried to call the housekeeper whose phone was switched off and her relatives had no idea of her whereabouts. The niece informed the police and. Sikand returned from the club in the evening, along with her driver, Jitender Shukla.
The police sought information through the colony’s CCTV cameras to figure out the maid’s movement. As Captain Paintola and his team responsible for studying the footage got into the act, they chanced upon a different twist. Whilst no movement of the housekeeper was seen, they found that the driver had returned home with the car around 1.30 pm and there were at least three people in the car.
Based on this information, Rajendra Prasad, the area ACP and acting SHO of Hauz Khas, realised that something more sinister was afoot. He personally jumped in as the chief investigating officer. More footage was viewed across 8 cameras which pieced together the chain of events to figure out the movements of the car and confirm that four people, including the driver, were involved. The driver went missing on 27th September and his phone was unreachable.
The police used mobile surveillance and deep investigation to nab Shukla on 30th September. Upon sustained interrogation, Shukla revealed that he and his accomplices had strangled the housekeeper with a gear wire, packed her body in a gunny bag and used. Sikand’s car to dispose it off in a drain in Noida Sector 93. He then returned to the club in time to bring Sikand home. He revealed that he killed Sattan because the two of them were in a relationship and Sattan was insisting on marriage, but Shukla was not willing because he was already married.
The body was identified by piecing together information of her clothes worn that day and the presence of the gear wires in the gunny bag.
At the time of writing, all three accomplices have been apprehended, one of whom is Shukla’s 21-year old son Deepak. This is indeed a remarkable achievement on the part of Rajendra Prasad, but for whom this case could have easily been filed away as one of theft.
In the author’s conversation with. Prasad, he thanked the Society, especially Captain Paintola and his team, for providing all the support. He highlighted that our CCTV cameras were a big help, but the colony needs to give more attention to their numbers, working condition, alignment, and placement (which is only possible if Society collects the desired monthly fee from all residents). He also felt that the colony’s residents, especially senior citizens, needed to register themselves and their staff with the police. These are important lessons for us, including the need to invest in upgrading the quantity, quality, and maintenance of our security cameras.
Our heart goes out to Sikand, who lost a trusted companion of 33 years, and the family of Sattan.
Report compiled with inputs from newspapers, ACP Mr. Prasad and Capt. Paintola
