Husband, girlfriend arrested for Delhi woman’s murder; 300-plus CCTV cameras scanned

A 22-year-old man and his alleged girlfriend have been arrested in connection with the murder of his wife in Delhi’s Prahladpur last month, with police saying their relationship emerging as the motive behind the killing.

The accused, identified as Md Lal Babu alias Zahid Ali and Rukhsar Khatoon, were arrested following an extensive investigation that involved scrutiny of more than 300 CCTV cameras across Delhi, Ghaziabad, Noida, Patna, Sitamarhi, Muzaffarpur and Mumbai, police said on Saturday.

According to police, Lal Babu allegedly conspired with Rukhsar and murdered his wife Sabilla Khatun inside the bathroom of a house in Prahladpur.

A case under Section 103(1) (murder) of the BNS was registered at the Shahbad Dairy police station on August 29 following the murder, they said.

Police said Lal Babu and Sabilla were married and residing in Prahladpur, adding that the former was allegedly in a relationship with Rukhsar and wanted to marry her.

After the murder, Lal Babu allegedly fled Delhi with his minor son towards Noida, where he contacted his maternal cousin Md Osama, police said.

Osama allegedly provided shelter and assistance to Lal Babu and facilitated his movement towards Bihar to evade arrest. He was arrested earlier in the investigation and sent to judicial custody, police said.

Following the murder, police conducted searches at multiple locations and carried out technical analysis and field verification to track the accused.

Investigators traced the routes and locations allegedly used by Lal Babu after the crime and eventually located him and Rukhsar, police said.

Police said the investigation involved analysis of CCTV footage and technical inputs, along with local intelligence developed across several states.

Lal Babu, a resident of Sitamarhi in Bihar, is the main accused and the husband of the deceased, police said. Rukhsar has been arrested for her alleged role in the conspiracy and commission of the offence.

Further investigation is underway to establish the complete sequence of events, ascertain the individual roles of all accused and collect additional evidence, police said.

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