Stones thrown at painter's house over maid death

new delhi: Tension ran high in Chittaranjan Park on Thursday after the domestic help was found dead in the servants' quarter under mysterious circumstances. The deceased's relatives and neighbours alleged that she was sexually assaulted before being murdered. A mob gathered around the house and pelted stones.
Police, however, denied any foulplay and said that the victim Archana Das (38) was neither raped nor were there any signs of homicide."However, we are not ruling out the suicide angle. We are yet to lodge a case as prima facie we have found no foul play. We have collected the viscera samples and will send it for forensic test. But, doctors at the AIIMS Trauma Centre told us there were apparently no struggle marks on her body,'' said a senior investigator at the Kalkaji police station.
When contacted, Ajai Kashyap, joint commissioner, southern range, said that they were waiting for the final postmortem report before deciding the "next course of investigations.''
Das was found dead in the servants' quarters of artist Subroto Kundu's residence near pocket 40 of C R Park around 8 am by another full-time domestic help, Yamuna (18). She informed Kundu's wife Nupur who informed the police around 9 am. Archana was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared brought dead. The preliminary medical report suggested chest congestion.
According to Nikhil Verma, a family friend of the Kundus, the family occupies the first and second floors of the building where Kundu stays with his wife and son while the servant quarter is situated on the third floor with a separate entrance. "On Thursday morning, Yamuna went to the third floor room to find Das lying on the bed and the fan running at full speed. When she went up again half-an-hour later, Das was still lying in the same position. It was then that she called Nupur to the room,'' he told Times City.
Nupur Kundu, wife of Subroto told Times City from an undisclosed location that the family has been under police protection since morning as the stone pelting had left them "very scared.''