‘I regret not waking up son, neighbours; maybe, their lives could have been saved’

Amit Sharma 

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 16

Sixty-year-old Shashi Bala, who stays on the first floor of the house in which the two sisters were murdered, was the one who heard one of the victims crying. She regrets she didn’t inform anyone at that time as she got scared; otherwise the young lives could have been saved. 

Shashi, who runs a tiffin service, woke up as usual at 4 am, turned the lights on and opened the door. “I was cutting vegetables when I heard Manpreet crying,” Shashi said. 

The elderly woman got suspicious and decided to check what was wrong with the girls. “I walked up to the door, which was half open. However, before I could see anything, a youth, who was a frequent visitor to the house, closed the door from inside,” Shashi said. 

She got scared and returned home. However, I kept the door open and the lights on. “Till the time the door was open and the lights were on, the youth didn’t leave the house. However, as soon I turned the lights off, a youth ran down the stairs,” she said. 

Shashi didn’t reveal this to anyone for several hours. Later, during the day, the victims’ family friend, Lucky Chawla, who stays in Sector 22, arrived to check after both sisters were not taking calls. However, he returned after finding the door locked from outside. “I then went to their house to inform that they should call the police as both sisters were inside the house,” Shashi said.  

Shashi said she was feeling guilty of not waking up her son or other neighbours when she heard the victims crying as maybe, their life could have been saved. 

Sarita, a next door neighbour, claimed that she did hear some noise coming out from room. However, she thought both sisters were quarreling with each other. 

Shashi recalled that both sisters were very humble and always greeted her. “Recently, their brother had purchased a new car; so they came and offered me sweets,” she said.

Suspect arrived around 

2:30 am According to Shashi Bala, the complainant in the murder case, who stays on the first floor of the house, both sisters returned home around 1 am on the intervening night of August 14 and 15. They had gone to apply mehndi on their hands as they were supposed to go home for rakhi. She said the suspect arrived there around 2.30 am.