A 31-year-old software engineer died after an alleged assault at his home in Delhi's Nihal Vihar, following a dispute over a household chore, with police arresting his wife and three of her relatives.

Vinay Gupta, a resident of Laxmi Park, worked as a software engineer at Adobe in Noida, according to The Times of India. He had been married to Rekha for about three-and-a-half years, and the couple had four-month-old twins, a boy and a girl, as reported by multiple sources.

The Dispute

The altercation began on Friday morning over who would apply medicine to blisters on one of the children, according to police and family accounts carried by Hindustan Times and The Times of India. Rekha allegedly refused and asked Vinay to do it, leading to an argument. Police told Hindustan Times that Rekha then left the house and called her two brothers and sister-in-law.

Gupta's sister Kirti told The Times of India that Rekha returned about 10 minutes later with her brothers and other relatives. "There were at least six people, and they started assaulting my father, my mother, and my brother," she alleged.

The Assault

Vinay's father, Prem Chand, recounted to The Times of India that he initially believed the relatives had come to discuss the dispute. "I took them upstairs and offered them water. But as soon as my son arrived, they attacked him. I was standing in front of them, and they pushed me. My thumb appears to be fractured," he said.

Vinay's mother, Renu, told ANI (as reported by The Times of India) that she tried to offer water to the relatives, but they said, "We don't want your water." She claimed one man grabbed Vinay by the hair while another strangled him and slammed him to the ground. A neighbour witnessed the attack and saw two men stomping on Vinay's chest, Renu alleged. She said she grabbed a stick to defend her son, but it was snatched away by an uncle who had come with the relatives.

Kirti alleged that the accused hit Vinay, strangled him, and some sat on his chest while assaulting him, as The Times of India reported. Police said the assault took place in the presence of Vinay's parents, according to Hindustan Times.

Vinay was declared brought dead at a hospital, as The Times of India reported.

Arrests and Investigation

Police arrested four people: Rekha Gupta, her brothers Raju Jindal and Ved Prakash Jindal, and Raju's wife Poonam. Raju, described as a chartered accountant, and Ved Prakash, a businessman, were identified in reports by both Hindustan Times and The Times of India. The arrests were made under sections 103(1) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, according to both sources.

Hindustan Times reported that Rekha had switched off the CCTV camera installed inside the house before the incident, but footage from neighbours' cameras captured her family members arriving. Police have detained two other relatives for questioning and are searching for one person on the run, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Background and Allegations

Police told Hindustan Times that Gupta and his wife frequently fought over their children, and that his wife's family had threatened him several times in the past year. The Times of India reported that the family alleged the brothers-in-law had threatened Vinay previously.

Kirti told The Times of India that this was not the first such incident: "Over a month ago, he had just asked her to fill water bottles when she had again called her brothers and family members to beat my brother up."

Renu accused seven members of the woman's family of attacking her son, as Hindustan Times reported. She was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying, "Her family was ready to kill us as well. They attacked my husband, who is a heart patient. Her uncle struck my son on his chest multiple times. How can someone kill a man over a medicine?"

Police have not yet established the exact sequence of the assault, according to The Times of India, and are questioning the arrested and examining CCTV footage.

The family has alleged that the assault was pre-planned, citing the switching off of security cameras, as The Times of India reported.