Journalist Ambily Vijaykumar was looking forward to celebrate her father’s 65th birthday on Friday. But she found him in a pool of blood at his house in east Delhi’s Mayur Vihar area today.
“I regularly called him on his mobile phone to check on him in the afternoon and he’d pick up my call instantly. But today the phone went unanswered. I then drove to his home and found the grilled door left ajar. I felt something suspect. I kept calling out for dad, but got no response,” she said.
“Moments later, I found the bedroom door half-open. I was feeling more and more suspect that something was amiss. The light was switched off in the room. Then I found the wall stand for the TV lying on the sofa. So, I checked up for the TV, and found it missing.
“Then I saw a mattress lying on the floor and couldn’t see anything more as the light wasn’t switched on. It was then that I pulled over the mattress, and there I found my dad dead, lying naked in a pool of blood,” the 37-year-old told Press Trust of India.
Vijaykumar PB, who retired from the Central Government Health Services (CGHS) in 2011, hailed from Kerala and had moved to Delhi in 1994, the family said. His wife works with the Income Tax Department.
Ms Ambily, who works with Rajya Sabha TV, and her architect husband live along with their two children in a separate building in the same housing complex.
“We had moved into Samachar Apartments in 2012 and my father moved this March. My father was to celebrate his 65th birthday on July 22,” she said.
“We lived in different blocks but spent afternoon together regularly. My two boys, aged, 10 and 6, also came down and we used to have lunch together. I haven’t told my children about it yet,” Ms Ambily said, overcome with emotions.
The incident came to light around 1.45 pm when Ms Ambily came to check on him and later the neighbours called police.
“The body has been sent for postmortem. My brother is also a journalist. He lives in Dubai. So, we are waiting for family members to gather for the last rites,” she said.