Crime

Two days after his brother’s family was found dead at their home in Tarakeshwor, located northwest of Kathmandu, Rajendra Pandey continues to remain shell-shocked.

Rajendra, 46, elder brother of Dinesh, says the incident has shocked every member of their extended family: “The family looked happy and healthy. I didn't expect in my wildest dreams that something like this would happen.”

People in Tarakeshwor - and the entire Kathmandu Valley – got a rude shock Monday morning after police found Dinesh Pandey, 41, his wife Sunita, 38, daughter Aashika, 13, and son Aashish, 8, dead inside their house. 

Neighbours suspected something was wrong after Aashika didn’t come out to catch her school bus around 9 am. Police responded to a call for a well-being check.

After reaching the site, police suspected that Dinesh killed all three with a kitchen cleaver and attempted to hang himself. He later killed himself using the same weapon.

The Pandeys moved to Tarakeshwor, Kathmandu from Bhimsen Thapa rural municipality-6, in Gorkha. Recently, the family built a one-story house. 

Family shocked

As police investigation continues, the family members remain shocked.

Although police suspect that Dinesh’s marital life was passing through a rough phase, his brother Rajendra thinks otherwise: “The couple had a tense relationship in the past. Dinesh even wanted to get a divorce from his wife. But they didn’t.

“We saw them living quite happily for the past one and half years. He used to take his family on outings too. We had seen them happy and thought that the conflict between the couple was over. We didn’t expect such an incident.”

24 hours before

Rajendra had met Dinesh 24 hours before the incident came to light.
He said: “I asked him where he was going. He replied that he was going to his work. This was the last conversation we had.”

As far he knows, Dinesh had come home in the evening around 8 pm.

Dinesh used to work as a mobile phone mechanic and also as an electrician. But he had sold his mobile phone shop in Padamsal a month ago.

In the past, Dinesh had gone to Kuwait for foreign employment and had returned four and half years ago.

The couple was in love before they got married 14 years ago. Dinesh’s wife Sunita had a fancy store in Padamsal. “He used to help her in the shop. He used to even go to the market to buy stuff for the shop.”  

Dispute

It has also been learnt that Dinesh had also tried to sell their house and had even taken Rs 1 million as advance payment from the buyer. But Sunita had refused to sell the house and had returned the money to the buyer.

They were reportedly selling the house for Rs 9.2 million.

Rajendra said: “Dinesh’s wife Sunita was helpful. She used to visit her in-laws' house. She had a very good bonding with her in-laws and all of us too.”

Though Dinesh was polite in nature he struggled to keep his temperament in check, according to Rajendra.

"He used to complain that his wife was taking decisions without discussing the matters with him," he said. “Also he often complained that she ran the fancy store without consulting him. He used to ask her where she had been every time she went out. But we didn’t expect a crime of this nature.” 

Police say investigation is on.

“The post mortem is being conducted; the reports from our forensic labs are yet to come,” said Dinesh Raj Mainali, spokesperson for the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range.

The police also found a suicide note at the crime scene. “We need to verify it,” said Mainali.