Dumbbell assault kills Delhi Police SWAT commando, husband arrested for murder

A 27-year-old woman SWAT commando posted with the Delhi Police Special Cell died during treatment recently, five days after she was allegedly beaten on the head with a dumbbell by her husband at their West Delhi residence, police said. The accused, a clerk with the Ministry of Defence, has been arrested and will now face a charge of murder.

Kajal, a 2022-batch Delhi Police recruit, was allegedly assaulted by her husband, Ankur, on January 22 at their flat in Mohan Garden. Investigators said she sustained severe head injuries after being struck repeatedly with an exercise dumbbell.

She was initially admitted to a private hospital in Mohan Garden and later shifted to Yashoda Hospital in Nehru Nagar on January 24 as her condition deteriorated. She died around 6 am on January 27.

The couple have a one-and-a-half-year-old son.

Police said Ankur was earlier booked for attempt to murder at Mohan Garden police station. Following Kajal’s death, the case will now be converted to murder.

Kajal’s elder brother, Nikhil, a constable posted at Parliament Street police station, said the couple had married for love in 2023 but their relationship had been strained by repeated disputes, allegedly over money and dowry demands.

“Soon after the wedding, his family began making comments about dowry,” Nikhil said. “Because of constant arguments, they moved out of his family home in Ganaur, Sonipat, and shifted to Mohan Garden. But later, Ankur insisted on returning to Ganaur.”

According to the family, the couple had come back to their Mohan Garden flat on January 20 for Republic Day-related duties in Delhi.

Nikhil said he received a phone call from Ankur on January 22 during an argument between the couple. “During the call, Kajal said something that offended him. He asked me to record the call. Then I started hearing her screams,” he said. “The call got disconnected. About five minutes later, he called again and said he had killed her.”

Police said Ankur took Kajal, who was unconscious, to a nearby private hospital before fleeing. “I reached the hospital after he told me where she was,” Nikhil said. “She was unconscious when I saw her.”

As her condition failed to improve, Kajal was referred to Yashoda Hospital two days later. She succumbed to her injuries on January 27 morning.

Information about her death was first received by Ghaziabad’s Sihani Gate police station, which alerted the Delhi Police. A post-mortem examination was conducted on Janury 27.

Police said no dowry-related charges have been added to the FIR so far, and the investigation is ongoing.