A practising doctor took her twin daughters to a three star hotel in Pitampura on Thursday, saying they were going to swim in the hotel pool. The bodies of the 4-year-olds are now awaiting postmortem.

She had administered lethal injections to them in the hotel room, before injecting herself with a double dose. Dr Rupa Ranjan (35), working with the Ambedkar Hospital, is recuperating in a critical state in Max hospital.

Though the police are not clear about the reason behind the extreme step, it appears to have been preceded by a domestic spat. Her husband, Dr Rajiv Ranjan, a surgeon in Harish Chand hospital, has told the police that they had an ugly argument on Tuesday night, when she told him that she wanted to open a private nursing home.

She had already talked to her parents, who are settled in the US, about the finances, Rajiv said. He, however, told her that they would open the nursing home with their own money.

Outside the couple’s rented home in Rohini’s Sector 11, the landlord, Suman Krishnkunj, said: “Rupa left with her children, Twinkle and Tanya, in an autorickshaw around 5.30 pm.”

At 6 pm, she reached Hotel City Park in Pitampura and booked a room. She then took her daughters to the hotel swimming pool and left them there.

The hotel’s spokesperson, Praveer Kumar Roy, said: “She booked a taxi and went to a nearby shop, where she purchased some toys. Then she went to a medical store and bought syringes.”

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