‘Bright, full of life, had big dreams’: Neighbors mourn IRS officer’s daughter after murder in ‘guarded’ south Delhi colony

NEW DELHI: The shocking crime has plunged the south Delhi neighbourhood into grief and disbelief.“We never thought such an incident could happen here,” said a neighbour, who got the news after PCR vans started flooding the locality early on Wednesday morning. “The girl was bright and full of life,” he said.An elderly resident told TOI, “We have not seen anything like this in our locality before. If a domestic worker we trust so much does this, what can one do?”While the main gate of the society is manned by security personnel, most individual houses do not have private guards. “Times are such that we have to rethink our individual security,” another local said. CCTV cameras are installed outside every building of the society, including the one where the crime took place.Grief-stricken friends and neighbours of the bereaved family remembered the deceased as a bright and focused student. “She was studious and reserved. She was among the toppers in college. She wanted to achieve a lot in life,” said a 69-year-old family friend, who is also a local.A 35-year-old businessman, another close family friend, said, “The family is sociable. I have known the woman since she was four. She was the life of every gathering — warm and well-mannered.”The neighbours said that the suspect was prone to picking up frequent fights in the locality. “He used to borrow money from several people, which would lead to constant friction,” a security guard said, adding, “Everyone in the colony knew him. He was a smooth talker and often convinced people to lend him money.”