Pregnant Kyrgyz woman and her one-year-old son found murdered in Delhi house

A Kyrgyz woman and her 13-month-old son were found dead in a south Delhi house on Tuesday morning.

The body of 28-year-old Myskal Zhumabaeva, who was five months pregnant, had multiple stab wounds, the police said. She and her toddler Manas were found at their friend’s house in Kalkaji in the southeastern part of the city.

Ms Zhumabaeva lived in an apartment in nearby Greater Kailash with her child and husband Vinay Chauhan. On Monday, the couple reportedly got into an argument, following which Mr Chauhan left the house to meet a friend.

The woman complained of stomach ache and called up a friend for help. Her friends Avinash and Matluba Madusmonova, an Uzbek national who lives in Kalkaji, took her to a hospital. After treatment, Ms Madusmonova took all of them back to her apartment, where Ms Zhumabaeva and her son were found dead the next morning.

The police said the Uzbek national’s flatmate was present at the apartment at the time. Two other common friends also briefly visited the house during this period.

RP Meena, deputy commissioner of police (southeast), said in a statement: “We received a call about a murder of a woman and her child at Kalkaji. On reaching the spot, we found bodies of the Kyrgyzstan woman and her son lying on the bed with stab injuries.”

Mr Chauhan received a call from Ms Madusmonova about the stabbings on Tuesday morning, after which he alerted the police. Ms Madusmonova and Avinash alleged that they found Ms Zhumabaeva’s room locked from the inside and had to force it open.

The police suspect that the mother and son were stabbed with a kitchen knife between 8am and 9am on Tuesday.

Mr Meena said the police have registered a case of murder and are conducting an investigation. He added that they do not suspect any outsider involvement.

“We are verifying the statements of the four people who were present in the flat. None of them has been given a clean chit,” Mr Meena said, according to the Hindustan Times. “As Chauhan was not present at the crime scene, his involvement is unlikely at least according to the circumstances of the case. However, we are also investigating him.”

According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, Delhi accounted for the most crimes against foreigners in India in 2019, followed by Maharashtra.