Delhi: Woman hires ‘contract killer’ to kill husband over property dispute, 1 held

The Delhi Police has arrested a contract killer from Punjab for killing a man here, whose wife allegedly orchestrated the crime over property disputes, an official said on Thursday.

The accused, Bagga Singh (19), was apprehended from Muktsar in Punjab, they said.

The case came to light on February 3 when the unidentified body of a man was found dumped in a rain drain near the FCI godown in the Shakti Nagar area of north Delhi.

“The body was taken into custody and was sent for autopsy and fingerprint identification revealed that the deceased was Sonu Nagar, a resident of Paharganj, with a criminal history. The post-mortem confirmed strangulation as the cause of death,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (North) Raja Banthia in a statement said.

Investigations began after Sonu’s wife, Sarita, filed a missing person complaint at Gulabi Bagh police station. She claimed two unknown men had taken her husband from their residence on a motorcycle. However, police found inconsistencies in her statement, said the DCP.

“A special investigation team was formed. The team analysed CCTV footage, call detail records (CDR), and IPDR data, which revealed that some people from Punjab had travelled to Delhi before the murder and were present near the crime scene,” said the DCP.

Further analysis showed that Sarita and her mother had been in contact with multiple Punjab-based numbers, one of which was actively used in Delhi’s Gulabi Bagh area.

CCTV footage confirmed that three men, including Sonu, were seen on a motorcycle heading toward Shakti Nagar, where his body was later dumped. Based on these leads, the police conducted a raid in Muktsar and arrested Bagga Singh. During interrogation, Bagga confessed to the crime and revealed that Sarita had hired them to kill her husband.

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Police said that Sarita, who was married to Sonu after a previous marriage, wanted to get rid of him due to disputes over property. She allegedly conspired with Bagga and Gurpreet to have him killed. The duo executed the murder at Sonu’s residence in Gulabi Bagh before dumping his body.

His accomplice, identified as Gurpreet, is currently absconding, police said.

Sonu’s mobile phone was recovered from Bagga, along with the motorcycle used in the crime. The hunt is on to nab other people and to verify further details of the conspiracy, police added.