Father, family joined hands to murder newborn twins in Delhi

NEW DELHI: A man and four of his family members, who were arrested for allegedly killing and burying his newborn twin daughters in Sultanpuri, have been charged with hatching a conspiracy to murder the infants by wilfully neglecting their care and subsequently burying them to conceal their heinous crime.

The gruesome case had come to light in June. The chargesheet, running into more than 800 pages, was filed by Delhi Police in August at Rohini Court. It named the father, Neeraj Solanki (30); his parents Vijender Solanki (60) and Chand Kaur (56); brother Dinesh (32) and Dinesh’s wife Monika (37) as accused, charging them under sections related to murder, foeticide, infanticide, common intention and dowry.

The murder of the babies had taken place on June 1. Pooja, Neeraj’s wife, had given birth to the twins on May 30 at a hospital in Rohtak Sector 36. However, Neeraj and his family were displeased with the birth of girls, according to police.

When Pooja was discharged from the hospital, her husband and in-laws arrived, took the infants away under the pretext of accompanying her to her parents’ home in Ismaila, Rohtak, and diverted to Sultanpuri, where they allegedly murdered and buried the babies.

According to the chargesheet, the murder was premeditated and pre-planned. Neeraj’s family conspired to end the lives of the infants, depriving them of essential nourishment and medical care, it said. The chargesheet noted that the family failed to provide any preor postnatal treatment to the babies.

Further, to conceal their crime, the family buried the infants and destroyed any evidence that could expose their actions, the chargesheet said. Neeraj, the main accused, neglected the newborns, murdered them and buried them without informing his wife. His father Vijender aided him in burying the infants while his mother Chand Kaur handed them over to her son, facilitating the burial, according to the chargesheet. Neeraj’s brother Dinesh and sister-in-law Monika were also implicated in the murder.

Pooja, a BSc graduate, married Neeraj on Feb 2, 2022. She alleged that she was regularly harassed for dowry and that her husband’s family wished for her to give birth to a son. She told police that during her pregnancy, she was even asked to undergo a sex determination test, which she refused, fearing the consequences.
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