By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
A retired couple and a woman domestic help were allegedly murdered by a plumber inside a house in Vishnulok Colony in Raipur area of Dehradun on Tuesday afternoon, police said.
The accused identified as Rajkumar of Bijnaur in Uttar Pradesh was caught by local residents while allegedly trying to flee from the house shortly after the killings. A large screwdriver, believed to have been used in the crime, was also recovered from him, police said.
The victims have been identified as Ramesh Kapoor (80), a retired official of the Ordnance Factory, and his wife Rajni Kapoor (76), a retired English teacher. The third victim was identified as Shiela (50), who worked as a domestic help in a nearby house
The motive for the triple murder was a financial transaction of Rs 300-600 where the couple apparently entered into a heated argument with the plumber, who was doing some repair work in their house, SSP Dehradun Pramendra Singh Dobal said. A gold chain belonging to Rajni Kapoor has also been recovered from the accused.
According to neighbours, Shiela rushed to the Kapoor residence after hearing the couple’s screams. However, she was also allegedly attacked and killed as she entered the house.
The accused attempted to escape after the killings but was chased and caught by people in the neighbourhood, police said.
Neighbours rushed all three victims to Coronation Government Hospital, where doctors declared them dead.
Police have informed the couple’s two sons, who are working in Delhi and Pune.
Neighbours described the elderly couple as friendly and said their deaths had shocked the locality. Police teams are investigating the crime and questioning the accused to ascertain the sequence of events and the motive behind the killings, SSP Dehradun Pramendra Singh Dobal said.
Dhasmana condemns police inaction
Senior Uttarakhand Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana condemned the triple murder saying the daylight killings had shaken the entire state and eroded people’s confidence in the police and the state government.
Speaking to mediapersons at Coronation Hospital, Dhasmana said the “fear of the police has disappeared from the minds of criminals” in the state. Dhasmana said he would meet the Director General of Police on Wednesday and submit a memorandum on behalf of the Congress, seeking strong action over the deteriorating law-and-order in the state capital.