Youth surrenders at police station after strangling mother and siblings to death; debt seen as possible motive

NEW DELHI: In a shocking incident, a youth surrendered at the police station after strangling his mother and two siblings to death. The accused has been identified as Yashbir Singh (25), who earlier worked as a driver at a private company. Those killed were his mother Kavitha (46), sister Meghna (24) and brother (14).

The incident took place at around noon on Monday in Laxmi Nagar in East Delhi. After the incident, Yashbir walked into the Laxmi Nagar police station and confessed to the crime. Police later went to his house and recovered the bodies.

According to preliminary police findings, Yashbir mixed seeds of a plant called datura collected from the Yamuna riverbank with flour and sugar to prepare laddus, which he gave to his family members. After they became unconscious, he allegedly strangled all three using a shawl. Police believe the crime was committed between 1.30 pm and 2 pm on Monday.

Yashbir, who previously worked as a driver at a private company, had been unemployed for the past six months, which led to severe financial difficulties. His father lives alone in Haryana following a dispute with Yashbir’s mother. The accused told the police that he had taken an insurance policy worth Rs 1.5 crore in his name and had attempted suicide around 45 times in the past two months.

Police said Yashbir claimed he was provoked after his mother allegedly told him during an argument, “If you want to die, first kill everyone in the family and then face the consequences.” Neighbours said all the victims, except Yashbir, were religious and regularly visited a nearby temple in the morning and evening.

The bodies have been sent to the mortuary for a post-mortem. Forensic experts have collected evidence from the scene. Police said they are not fully relying on the statements of the accused and that more clarity on the cause and time of death will emerge after the post-mortem report comes out.