JAIPUR: A 45-year-old man who allegedly bludgeoned his wife and three daughters to death at their home in the city’s Kardhani area Friday morning proceeded to make tea for his elderly father before quietly leaving home after a bath and a shave. The gruesome crime scene that he left behind, which was not discovered until more than two hours later, has left both investigators and relatives stumped as to the motive behind the crime.Police identified the suspect as Rahul Jha and the victims as his wife Geeta (40) and daughters Nandani (23), Radhika (17) and Gracia alias Gauri (14). Their bodies were found in different rooms of the house at plot A-169 in Govind Vatika.
Rahul and Geeta
Rahul’s father, Laxmi Nath Jha, told police he woke up in the morning as usual and was asked by his son if he wanted a cup of tea. Rahul went to collect milk from the milkman around 7am, entered the kitchen and prepared tea for his father. After serving it, he shaved and took a bath before leaving the house.Police said it wasn’t until 9.30am that Laxmi Nath noticed blood inside the house. Elderly and suffering from ailments, he struggled to get out of his cot before calling out to a neighbour through a common wall.It was this next-door neighbour who discovered the bodies and alerted others and the police. “I almost fainted at the sight of the four dead bodies,” she told TOI.Police are examining several possible motives behind the murders, including financial problems and an alleged marital dispute. Family members, however, said they had not noticed anything unusual.Rahul’s niece Simran said the family had shown no outward signs of trouble. She recalled speaking to Geeta on a video call Thursday night but noticed nothing untoward. She said Geeta ran a beauty parlour, while the couple’s eldest daughter Nandini had recently joined a private company in the accounts department.“It is very difficult for us to comprehend why he did it,” she said of Rahul, who ran a small business and traded in stocks.Police sources said all four bodies bore blunt-force injuries to the head, and a stone allegedly used to commit the murders has been recovered. Although investigators are not sure if the murders were premeditated or a crime of passion, they are leaning towards a cold-blooded, multiple murder because Rahul appears to have found the time to wash his hands and take a bath afterwards before packing a few essentials and leaving home.Investigators are also struggling to determine the sequence of events leading to the killings because neither Laxmi Nath nor any of the neighbours heard any screams or noises during the night or in the morning. Police sources said one possibility is that the deceased may have been served food or drink laced with a sedative, but that line of inquiry remains to be confirmed by toxicology reports.The time of death of the four victims is also yet to be established.ACP (Jhotwara) Shiv Kumar Bhardwaj said all probable motives behind the murders are being investigated. A police team is trying to track down Rahul, who police suspect took his ATM cards along but left his mobile phone behind.
