Former Union Minister Rangarajan Kumaramangalam’s widow Kitty was murdered in her Vasant Vihar house in South Delhi on Tuesday, Delhi Police said.
The 68-year-old was suffocated to death with a pillow in her house, police said, adding the incident happened at around 9 pm on Tuesday. Kitty Kumaramangalam was at home with her house help when a washerman, who worked for her, barged into the house with two others to rob her, police said.
The washerman and his associates held the househelp hostage in a room, and then attacked her and suffocated her to death with a pillow.
DCP Ingit Pratap Singh said they received the call at around 11 pm. Police found briefcases lying open at the scene of the crime. They then picked up the washerman Raju (24) from his residence in Bhanwar Singh Camp in Vasant Vihar. He has revealed the names of his associates, the DCP said.
Lakhan, 24, is a local washerman in A block colony, Vasant Vihar, who visited the Kumaramangalam house every day for the last five years. While the main accused has been detained, a search is underway to nab two other accused, said the police.
Meanwhile, the victim’s son, Rangarajan Mohan Kumaramangalam, who is a Congress leader, has left for Delhi upon learning of his mother’s death.
Kitty Kumaramangalam had practiced law in the Supreme Court. Her husband Rangarajan Kumaramangalam was a Congressman for most of his life but switched to the BJP in the mid-90s. He served as a minister in the National Democratic Alliance government of Atal Bihari Vajpayee between 1998 and 2000. He died in August 2000 at the age of 48.
The Kumaramangalam name is a storied name in Indian politics, Kitty Kumaramangalam’s father-in-law Mohan Kumaramangalam was a member of the Communist Party of India and joined the Congress later. He passed away in 1973. His brother was Chief of Army Staff in 1967-69. Their father, Subbarayan, was chief minister of the Madras Presidency.