Delhi: Brother, sister-in-law held for ‘killing’ man over alleged harassment

A man was allegedly strangled to death and his body stuffed inside mattresses and blankets, before being dumped in a plastic sack outside a factory in west Delhi’s Moti Nagar area, with police arresting his brother and sister-in-law, an official said on Tuesday.

The accused have told their interrogators that they killed the man following prolonged disputes over his alleged objectionable behaviour towards the woman.

A tattoo that read “Amit-Kiran” on the decomposed body, found on April 4, proved to be the breakthrough clue that helped investigators identify the victim and crack the case after a more-than-two-month probe involving the examination of footage collected from over 300 CCTV cameras and raids across multiple states.

Accused Gopal (32) and his wife, Soma alias Seema (35), were arrested after police tracked their movements through technical surveillance, call detail records and verification of relatives and associates, the official said.

The case came to light when police received information about a suspicious white plastic sack lying outside a factory gate on Rama Road, near the Prem Nagar Fatak.

Upon inspection, police found a decomposed male body wrapped in two mattresses and two blankets in the sack. The victim’s legs were tied with a mobile phone’s charger cable, police said.

The body was sent for post-mortem, which revealed multiple bruises on the neck, a fractured hyoid bone and a blunt-force injury to the head. Doctors opined that the cause of death was asphyxia due to manual strangulation, associated with a head injury, and declared the death homicidal.

During the examination of the body, investigators noticed a tattoo that read “Amit-Kiran” on the victim’s right arm after the removal of the decomposed skin layer. The tattoo became a crucial lead in establishing the identity of the deceased, police said.

A murder case was registered and investigators began probing the possibility that the victim was killed elsewhere, before his body was dumped at the spot.

A special team conducted extensive enquiries in labour colonies and slum clusters across Delhi-NCR and scrutinised footage collected from more than 300 CCTV cameras.

During the investigation, police identified an e-cart allegedly used to transport the body. The driver and the two labourers who had shifted the mattresses and blankets were traced and questioned.

Their statements led the investigators to a rented accommodation in Indrapuri, Loni, Ghaziabad. A forensic examination of the premises resulted in the seizure of blood-stained exhibits, police said.

Persistent investigation eventually established the identity of the deceased as Amit Kumar. Police later discovered that the rented accommodation was occupied by the deceased’s younger brother, Gopal, and the latter’s wife, Soma.

According to the investigators, the couple vacated the premises immediately after the incident and went into hiding.

Police arrested them on June 15 from near a railway line in Shiv Basti on Rama Road.

During sustained interrogation, it prima facie emerged that Kumar was addicted to liquor and frequently behaved in an objectionable manner towards Soma, police said.

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According to the investigators, the deceased allegedly attempted to exercise authority over Soma as if she were his wife, made unreasonable demands and sought to establish a physical relationship with her.

Police said both accused had repeatedly objected to his conduct, leading to frequent quarrels and strained relations within the family. A preliminary investigation suggests that the persistent discord arising out of the deceased’s alleged behaviour was the immediate provocation behind the killing.

Gopal has been remanded in police custody for further interrogation and recovery of evidence, while Soma has been sent to judicial custody.

Further investigation is underway to establish the exact sequence of events and gather additional evidence in the case, police said.