Saira and her daughters had multiple stab injuries and Saira's throat was found slit with a sharp weapon. (Representational Image)
A 50-year-old woman and her two daughters, aged 19 and nine years, were found murdered at their residence in northeast Delhi's Brahmapuri area on Sunday evening.
The incident came to light around 6.30 pm when neighbours called up police complaining of intolerable stench emanating from their house, which was locked from outside.
When it was opened, the highly decomposed bodies of the three were found, a senior official said.
The victims were identified as Saira, 50, and her daughters Mehrunisha,19, and Shabnam, 9, he said.
They had multiple stab injuries and Saira's throat was found slit with a sharp weapon, the official said.
Prima facie, they died at least three days ago.
While Mehrunisha's body was found in a bedroom on the first floor of the house, Shabnam's body was found shoved inside a bathroom.
The killer dragged Saira's body and left it at the staircase leading towards the terrace.
The house was in a disorganised state, suggesting the possibilities of robbery and a scuffle between the victims and the killer, he said.
A case of murder has been registered and the matter is being probed, the senior official said.
The bodies have been sent for postmortem.
Saira's husband Munna passed away around two years ago. He had married another woman in 2011 with whom he already had two children and they lived separate.
Saira is learnt to be involved in a property dispute with the family of her husband's second wife, the official said.
While Saira and her daughters lived in the first floor of the house, the ground floor was rented out to a man, who is missing for the past four days.
The tenant suspectedly had an one-sided love affair with Mehrunisha.
Some relatives have been questioned and CCTV grabs obtained from the locality are being checked.
Efforts are on to trace the missing tenant, the senior official added.