Compulsive gambler in India accused of killing wife, children

• Law enforcement initiated an investigation after uncovering a woman and three children murdered in their family home in the Siraspur area
• Police identified the husband as a prime suspect and detained him several days after the murder
• If a person is found guilty of murder, they may receive the penalty of death, but in most cases, murderers are sentenced to live in prison

A man, described as a compulsive gambler, from the Siraspur area in New Delhi, India, is a prime suspect in a homicide case.

The man, who, according to local media reports, is 42 years old, is suspected of killing his wife and three children, pressured by a piling gambling-related debt.

Prime suspect arrested days after nightmarish homicide

Last week, neighbors of the 42-year-old man couldn't reach him or his family and contacted the police.

Once law enforcement entered the family home in the Siraspur area, they were shocked to discover the scene of cold-blooded murder.

The suspect's wife and three children's lifeless bodies were found inside the family home, all with their throats slit.

The 42-year-old man was nowhere in sight, so law enforcement immediately launched a multi-state manhunt.

While forensics examined the bodies of the murdered woman and children, aged three, four and five, police used facial recognition technology and CCTV to determine the whereabouts of the suspect.

A couple of days after the murder, law enforcement detained the suspect, who had fled to Rajasthan.

The alleged murderer was arrested in Kishangarh in the Ajmer district of Rajasthan and police began to question him.

Gambling-related debt allegedly pushed the suspect to commit the crime

An investigation into the murder of the suspect's wife and three children is ongoing.

What's known so far is that the prime suspect, the husband and father of the three underage children, was addicted to gambling and had an increasing gambling-related debt.

Recently, the suspect allegedly loaned Rs 2 lakh, or approximately $2,200, from relatives and used some of the money to settle part of a gambling debt, buy supplies for his business as a vegetable seller, and spend the rest of the money on gambling activities, including betting on cricket.

The 42-year-old man is suspected of having gambled online and via retail outlets and allegedly, his activities resulted in a dispute between him and his wife.

Police allege the suspect first murdered his wife, then his three children.

The suspect allegedly thought of taking his own wife too, but decided to flee instead.

In India, a person found guilty of murder may receive the death penalty as capital punishment on rare occasions.

While the death penalty is one option, usually, people found guilty of murder are imprisoned for the rest of their lives.

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