Delhi: Woman brutally beats 86-year-old mother-in-law to death using frying pan

A 48-year-old woman has been arrested for allegedly beat her mother-in-law to death using a frying pan in south Delhi's Neb Sarai area. The motive behind the attack appears to be long-standing frustrations related to caregiving responsibilities, according to the police. According to the police, a man reported on April 28 that his friend's mother had collapsed in her apartment and was bleeding profusely, following which a police team rushed to the spot.

Police said that the family hailed from Kolkata and the son had rented a flat for his mother in front of his own. According to the son, his mother was suffering from arthritis for a long time and had problems walking.


"When the police reached the spot, they found Hanshi Som lying on the kitchen floor with multiple injuries on her face and skull. The woman's son Surjeet Som (51), along with his wife Sharmishta and their 16-year-old daughter, were residing in Neb Sarai since 2014. Originally from Kolkata, Surjeet's mother had been living alone until March 2022. To ensure her well-being, Surjeet brought his mother to Delhi and arranged for her to stay in a rented flat opposite his own," news agency IANS reported, citing a police officer.

A CCTV camera was found in the bedroom but it had no storage device in it. But a senior police official said that "Surjeet informed the police that he had live access to the camera on his phone, allowing him to monitor his mother's daily routine. On the day of the incident, the camera was not functioning due to a power cut, Surjeet has claimed."

On the day of the incident, only Sharmishta was present in their flat, while the deceased's flat was locked from the outside, with the keys found inside Sharmishta's flat.

"Surajit later admitted that before notifying the police, he removed the memory card from the CCTV camera positioned in the deceased's bedroom," said the DCP.

"Upon reviewing the CCTV footage, it was observed that at 10:30 a.m. on April 28, Sharmishta entered the deceased's flat while holding an utensil in her hand. Several blows were inflicted upon the elderly woman. After committing the crime, Sharmishta could be seen cleaning the weapon with a cloth," said the DCP.

"He witnessed his wife entering and exiting his mother's flat. Concerned with these findings, he shared his suspicion with the local police," said the DCP.

A case has been registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.