A 50-year-old dermatologist allegedly thrashed his domestic worker with a bat and stabbed her with a sharp object in an apartment in south Delhi’s upmarket Mount Kailash area on Thursday morning, the second grisly murder to rock the neighbourhood in three months.The blood soaked weapons were recovered, said police. (Hindustan Times)Police arrested Dr Manish Gupta, who has worked at top dermatology clinics in Delhi, and said the doctor allegedly killed his domestic worker of 10-12 years on the terrace of the apartment when his teenage son was present in their flat.Gupta – who lived on the 3rd floor of the three-storey apartment – was charged with murder. Police identified the domestic worker as Meena Haldar, 45, originally a resident of Kolkata who worked at the Gupta’s and two-three other houses in the apartment for at least a decade.“She used to work as a domestic help at Gupta’s house…and had been there for a long period of time. The accused was also present inside the house and was sitting near the body. He has admitted hitting the victim with a bat and later attacked her with a knife,” said deputy commissioner of police (southeast) Hemant Tiwari.“As of now, the doctor has admitted to the crime and said he was upset with the domestic help. The family has also claimed that he was undergoing treatment for mental health issues for the last 10 years. We are checking all medical documents.”The blood soaked weapons were recovered, said police.During interrogation, officials said that Gupta admitted to killing Haldar over previous arguments with his family. “He told us that he wanted Meena to be removed from the job but his family members refused to do so. He was upset and felt bad that nobody listened to him. He also told us that he suspected that Meena was bringing bad energy to the house and this affected his son’s studies,” said a senior police officer who refused to be named.As per neighbours, Gupta moved into the third-floor apartment with his wife, also a doctor, and son around 15 years back. Gupta told police previously worked with AIIMS, Behl Skin Institute and Kaya Skin Clinic, an officer told HT, adding that they were investigating these claims. He was running a clinic from his residence.Officials said preliminary enquiry and interrogation revealed that Gupta was “not happy” with Haldar’s work and wanted to remove her, but that his family members did not listen to him. “The doctor felt hurt that nobody in his family was listening to him and attacked the domestic help when he found her at the terrace,” said a police officer, requesting anonymity.Police said Haldar lived in the Prakash Mohalla area – which adjoins Mount Kailash and East of Kailash, and houses many lower-middle class people – for 20 years.On Thursday morning around 10.15 am, Gupta’s wife Tina Gupta left for work, said police, adding that Gupta and his son were inside the house. Around 10.30-10.45 am, Haldar entered the house, washed clothes and went to the terrace to dry them when Gupta followed her, said the police.The terrace was common for all three flats in the apartment.Around 11.15-11.30 am, police said Gupta allegedly hit Haldar with a bat on her head and she fell on the floor. He then allegedly picked up a knife and stabbed her. He went downstairs and kept the weapons near the staircase, said the police.At 11.36 am, another resident from the building opposite to Gupta’s apartment saw a woman lying face down on the terrace with a pool of blood around her, said police. The resident made a PCR call immediately.“Our team led by ACP Kalkaji along with SHO Amar Colony and other police staff immediately rushed to the scene of crime and found the dead body of a lady who was later identified as Meena,” said Tiwari.Haldar is survived by her husband, son Robin and daughter-in-law Saptami. Robin said he works at a shop in Nehru Place. “My mother worked very hard to run the house for years when I was a kid. She provided us with the best life. I can’t believe she was brutally killed for no reason. She never took leaves, she always showed up on time. She always listened to them (Guptas). Why did they do this? My mother was lying in a pool of blood. It looks like he stabbed her multiple times. Why? I want answers. My mother always praised them. She worked there for more than 10-12 years,” he said.Around noon, more than 50-60 domestic workers had gathered outside apartments and staged a protest and clashed with police after they were not allowed to see the body. Police later took the woman’s son to AIIMS to see her body.Saptami said, “We were working nearby when we heard Meena was dead on the terrace. We rushed there but the police did not even allow us. We protested and somehow got inside. I could not believe my eyes. There was blood everywhere. There were multiple injuries on her head. I fainted. If she was not doing her work properly, they could have just removed her. Why kill her? What was her fault?”Residents said they were shocked.“I have known the doctor for years. Gupta had always been nice to everyone. He would donate at the temple, gurudwara and even for animal rescue. He has always been this quiet person. We never thought this would happen,” said Amit Vohra, a neighbour.This comes just two months after the rape and murder of a 22-year-old woman, less than kilometre away in Kailash Hills. Police arrested a former domestic worker, 20-year-old Rahul Meena, hours after the incident.