A 50-year-old dermatologist allegedly killed his domestic help after becoming enraged that she only prioritised his wife’s instructions over his demands that she clean his clinic, the Delhi Police said in a charge sheet filed on Monday in the June murder in southeast Delhi ’s Kailash Hills, rejecting his initial defence of a “mental-health history”.
Police reject mental-health defence
The charge sheet also addresses the defence raised by Gupta and his family that he had been undergoing treatment for mental-health issues and had taken antidepressants for several years. Manish Gupta, who ran a dermatology clinic adjoining his flat at Mount Kailash Apartments, was arrested on June 18 for allegedly beating and murdering his 45-year-old domestic help, Meena Haldar. Haldar had worked for Gupta’s family for around 16 years and came to their home for routine work at around 10.30am on June 18, according to the police. Gupta’s wife, police said, had left for work at 10am at her Ayurvedic clinic in Karol Bagh while their 18-year-old son was asleep in his room.
The chargesheet, a copy of which has been seen by HT, said Gupta had been unhappy with Haldar for some time and had repeatedly asked his wife to remove her from employment. “… accused felt Haldar refused to listen to him and only gave preference to his wife’s instructions,” police said. To substantiate this allegation, police recorded the statement of Haldar’s son, who allegedly told investigators that “his mother had complained that Gupta was frequently dissatisfied with her work and often scolded her”. Gupta had told investigators that he was distressed over his son’s studies, but police said no conclusive evidence had emerged linking it to the offence.
