Kitty Kumaramangalam’s murder: Laundryman got ‘tempted’ by locker in almirah
Raju told police he knew the woman was a minister’s wife and thought she had money stored in a small detachable locker inside the almirah.
The one mistake that cost south Delhi resident Kitty Kumarmangalam (70) her life was to trust her laundryman enough to allow him inside the house whenever he returned with the elderly woman’s clothes, investigators said on Thursday.
Laundryman Raju Lakhan Kanojia, arrested for the murder of Kitty Kumarmangalam, wife of former Union minister P Rangarajan Mangalalam, told police that he often went inside her house and kept the clothes in her almirah. What he saw inside became a source of envy that ultimately triggered him to become a murderer, a police officer, who questioned Kanojia (24), said on Thursday.
Kitty’s husband was the Union minister of power between 1998 and 2000 during the first National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government.
Raju told police he knew the woman was a minister’s wife and thought she had money stored in a small detachable locker inside the almirah. On Tuesday night, Raju and his two accomplices, Rakesh Raj and another person Suraj (identified by his single name in police records), murdered Kitty, assaulted her domestic help, and fled with cash, jewellery and the small locker.
Police arrested Raju and Rakesh Raj,34, while Suraj is on the run. Rakesh and Suraj work as drivers. Till late Thursday night, police were conducting raids in different places across the city to arrest Suraj.
“He said he was always curious about the small detachable locker in the almirah. He stole that too on Tuesday. The elderly lady (Kitty) did not believe that Raju, who she had seen for so many years, could rob her. Maybe this is why, the kind lady trusted him and allowed him inside. Usually, people don’t. Raju said that he had seen cash and the locker, whenever he put the cleaned clothes back in the almirah. Greed had struck him in the past. This greed, coupled with intoxication from drinking with his friends at the PVR Priya market, emboldened him to murder and rob her,” the investigating officer cited above said on condition of anonymity.
The questioning of the two arrested men revealed that after the murder, the three rode to a wooded area on Nelson Mandel Marg and shared the stolen cash and jewellery. They shared around ₹80,000 each. While hiding in the bushes, the three also used a stone to break open the small locker but found only papers inside.
“We have recovered the stolen locker along with the papers. It is a part of case property and is strong evidence that we have gathered against them,” the officer added.
The murder came to light around 10.10pm on Tuesday when Kitty’s domestic help, Mithila,33, whom the three men had strangled with a belt and left for dead, woke up and called her husband. Her husband alerted the neighbours, who then informed the police. Mithila told police that at 8.10pm the three men entered Kitty’s second floor house in A block, overpowered the two women, strangled her with a belt in one room, and smothered Kitty to death with a pillow in another. Kitty died on the spot.
While prime accused Raju is in police custody, his family members who live in the nearby Bhagwan Singh camp -- a slum cluster next the posh Vasant Vihar area -- refuse to believe that the 24-year-old could be a murderer. Police said Raju confessed he and his friends Rakesh and Suraj needed money, so they readily agreed to assist him. Raju’s mother, Geeta Kanojia, said, “We earn about ₹20,000-25,000 from washing and ironing clothes. We are told that he stole about ₹2 lakh. My son could not have done this. We refuse to believe he is a murderer.”
But police believe they have all the evidence to pin the murder on the three men. Police will file a charge sheet against the three men in the next 60 days. Laundryman Raju and his accomplice Rakesh are currently at the Vasant Vihar police station. A city court on Thursday sent them to three days’ police custody.
Other laundrymen who live and work in the bylanes of A block in Vasant Vihar are in fear. They believe they will forever be seen with suspicion. Geeta Ram,74, who runs a small ironing shop in the bylane next to Kitty’s house, said, “I have lived here for more than 50 years. All my life, my wife and I have climbed the stairs in these buildings and taken clothes for laundry. This is the first time that a laundryman murdered his own employer. Because of this one case, we will be viewed with suspicion.”
Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.
Stay updated with all top Cities including, Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai and more across India. Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News along with Delhi Election 2025 and Delhi Election Result 2025 Live, New Delhi Election Result Live, Kalkaji Election Result Live at Hindustan Times.