Scotland Yard nabs Indian-origin murder suspect
Scotland Yard on Sunday arrested an Indian-origin man in suspect of murder of his one-year-old boy and injuring his toddler's twin sister in London
London, Mar 20: An Indian-origin man has been arrested by Scotland Yard on suspicion of brutally murdering a one-year-old boy and critically injuring the toddler's twin sister, believed to be his children, in north east London.
Bidhya Sagar Das, 33, had been on the run after the toddlers were attacked on Saturday, in what police are describing as a suspected "domestic" incident. The Metropolitan Police's Homicide and Major Crime Command had launched a major manhunt for Sagar and arrested him after 20 hours on Sunday.
"This is clearly a tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the family of the two young children. Despite the best efforts of medical professionals, a baby boy sadly died. A baby girl currently remains in a critical condition and is receiving specialist medical care," said Detective Chief Inspector Dave Whellams, of the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command.
"Whilst
we
remain
in
the
early
stages
of
the
investigation,
a
man
has
now
been
arrested.
I
would
still
like
to
hear
from
anyone
who
may
have
any
information
regarding
this
terrible
incident,"
he
said.
Sagar
has
been
taken
to
an
east
London
police
station,
where
he
remains
in
custody.
"Next
of
kin
are
aware.
Formal
identification
awaits
and
a
post-mortem
examination
will
be
scheduled
in
due
course.
The
incident
is
believed
to
be
domestic.
Enquiries
continue,"
the
Met
Police
statement
said.
The children were named locally as Gabriel and Maria and some images from the crime scene show a forensics officer pulling a hammer out of a bag of sand near the flat where the brutal attack took place. According to local reports, the twins lived on the top floor of the building on Wilberforce Road near Finsbury Park in London with their Romanian mother, Cristinela Datcu, and Indian-origin father.
Horrified neighbours had reported a woman, believed to be the children's mother, rushing out of the home screaming, "My kids, my kids!" shortly after 11 PM on Saturday. The boy was pronounced dead hours later after both children were taken to an east London hospital.
It is believed the mother was locked in the bathroom as the children were attacked with a hammer. "My friend went up to her flat and found the children on the floor. The man's girlfriend, had been in the shower or locked in the bathroom," Mihai Manea, a neighbour, said.
Das is believed to have worked as a hotel receptionist in London and lived with his Romanian girlfriend at the flat which is now a crime scene.
PTI