4 bullets for wife, 7 for son: Gurgaon security officer held for double murder

GURGAON: A security officer with a private firm allegedly turned his licensed revolver on his own family on Saturday night, shooting his wife and their 27-year-old son dead after a heated argument at their Ashok Vihar Phase 3 home.

The two who died were Asha Rani Tanwar (52), principal of Lord Shiva Public School in Carterpuri village, and her son Prashant Tanwar (27), who helped her run the school.

Police said the shooting occurred around 11pm at the family’s three-storey house. Asha Rani and her husband, Anil Tanwar (56), were on the third floor. Their daughter — married about three years ago and visiting her parents — was on the first floor along with Prashant and his wife, whom he married around 18 months ago.

According to the daughter’s complaint, family members heard the couple quarrelling and ran upstairs. She told police she saw her father slap her mother as the argument spiralled. Prashant then came up and tried to intervene and defuse the situation.

Anil allegedly went to fetch his licensed revolver and opened fire, shooting both his wife and son. Asha Rani was hit by four bullets in the hand, head and back, while Prashant suffered seven gunshot wounds to his head, face, chest, back and feet. Police recovered 14 empty cartridges from the spot.

As shots rang out, neighbours gathered outside and alerted police. Prashant’s wife also reached the third floor and, along with other family members, tried to stop the accused. But they fled downstairs when he allegedly refused to relent.

After Anil came downstairs, the women returned to the third floor and found Asha Rani and Prashant lying unconscious and oozing blood from the bullet wounds. Both were taken to hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead. Police said the accused did not flee, but remained at home.

Teams from Sector 5 police station reached the scene, and fingerprint experts were called to examine the house and collect evidence. Anil was taken into custody and the revolver was seized.

“Preliminary inquiries revealed that the family had been facing domestic disputes and differences for a considerable period. It is suspected these issues culminated in the fatal confrontation on Friday night. The son tried to intervene and stop the fight between his parents, but the accused killed them both,” police spokesperson Sandeep Turan said.

A neighbour corroborated that arguments were common in the Tanwar household.

A case of murder was registered at Sector 5 police station on the daughter’s complaint. The accused was produced before a local court on Sunday, and remanded in two days’ police custody for questioning.

The bodies were sent to the mortuary for autopsy, which was conducted by a two-doctor board on Sunday. Police said they are examining all aspects of the case.