Seven-year-old spends harrowing night with dead bodies before contacting relatives.

When seven-year-old Samiksha Fundkar and her six-year-old brother Yuvraj stepped out of their residence in Hanuman Nagar, Kandivali on Tuesday morning, no one in the area had any idea about the terrible sight that the two children had witnessed. The white-faced kids, holding on to each other’s hands, walked straight to their uncle’s house some distance away from their residence and narrated a heart wrenching tale that left everyone shocked.

While the rest of the residents were sleeping, Samiksha had witnessed her father Nitin slit her mother’s throat and then hang himself on Monday night. Samiksha spent the night sitting in front of the dead bodies, too afraid to even move. Finally, when morning came, she went to the bedroom she shared with Yuvraj, woke him up and told him what had happened, after which they both went to their uncle’s house.

Their uncle immediately called the police control room and the information was relayed to the Samta Nagar police. A team of officials was rushed to the spot to make inquires, and they entered the Fundkar residence to find Surekha lying in a pool of blood in the living room, while Nitin was hanging by a length of rope from the ceiling fan. They were both rushed to the Shatabdi Hospital in Kandivali, where they were declared dead before admission, the police said.

“Investigations so far have revealed that Nitin, who used to work as a driving instructor in a motor training school, used to have frequent fights with Surekha. The couple had been married for the last eight years, but Nitin always suspected Surekha of having an extramarital affair, and this used to be the reason for regular arguments between the couple. On Monday night, a fight started between them over the same reason, and in the heat of the argument, Nitin seized a kitchen knife and slit Surekha’s throat,” said Senior Police Inspector D S Yadav, Samta Nagar police said.

Mr Yadav said that while Yuvraj had gone to sleep by the time the fight began, Samiksha was awake and witnessed the fight as well as the murder that followed. After sitting near Surekha’s dead body for a short while, Nitin wordlessly got a length of rope from inside the house and hanged himself, with Samiksha watching the whole time.

“Samiksha was numbed with shock after witnessing the murder and the subsequent suicide and it did not even occur to her to raise an alarm and get help at the time. It was only on Tuesday morning that she was able to move from where she was sitting,” said an officer with the Samta Nagar police station.

After completing their inquiries, which included recorded statements from several relatives and neighbours of the Fundkars, the police registered a complaint of murder against Nitin under the Indian Penal Code.

As the accused in the case is already deceased, the police will file a report to the effect in court and recommend that the case be closed, said officials.