Delhi: Man stabs father over 36 times, attacks neighbours; blows up house

New Delhi: A 38-year-old former merchant navy officer, who had been fired from service, murdered his father in an east Delhi apartment on Sunday afternoon, before attempting to blow up the house.

Rahul Matta stabbed his father 36 times inside his flat, before chasing him outside and killing him, said reports.

To make matters worse, Matta then went on a stabbing spree, attacking a woman neighbour in her flat, taking another neighbour hostage and locking him in the house.

When cornered by police, the man switched on the LPG supply and blew up the flat, injuring at least nine policemen who had arrived at the scene of the crime.

However, Rahul was rescued from the burning flat after about an hour, said the reports, and is now being treated for his injuries. Police will interrogate him once he recovers, said reports.

“The deceased father, identified as RP Matta, a retired finance sector employee, had recently come back from Canada, and had disowned his son Rahul. He had also got his son banned from entering the society where he lived,” a police officer was quoted as saying.

He added that Rahul Matta had a criminal history and had been arrested in 2016 for molesting a woman in Delhi. The police officer said that the tension in the family began nine months ago when Rahul married Renu, a divorcee with two children. RP Matta objected to the marriage, asked his son to leave his house and kept him out of the property will.

Later, RP Matta complained against his son at the Madhu Vihar Police station for creating a ruckus outside his house. However, it all ended in horrific murder.