Man disguised as sadhu kills estranged wife with hammer in Delhi

A 50-year-old woman was bludgeoned to death with a hammer allegedly by her estranged husband — who arrived from Bihar disguised as a sadhu — in south Delhi’s Neb Sarai area, police said on Wednesday.

Pramod Jha alias Pappu (60) attacked his wife Kiran Jha inside her house in the early hours of Wednesday in what the police called a pre-planned attack.

Kiran, who worked as a caregiver, was found lying in a pool of blood by her daughter-in-law around 4 am, DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan said.

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“The accused arrived in Delhi from his native village in Bihar’s Munger district on August 1 after nearly a decade-long separation with his wife. He reportedly dressed as a sadhu to mislead his family members and gain access to the house,” the DCP said.

Kiran had been living separately from her husband for the past 10 years due to repeated instances of domestic violence.

She lived with her son Durgesh, daughter-in-law Kamal Jha, and a granddaughter in Neb Sarai, the officer said, adding that Durgesh works with a microfinance company in Darbhanga, Bihar.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that the accused had no stable means of income and had sold off his ancestral property. He was pressuring his wife to return to Bihar and earn money, which she refused,” the officer said.

According to Kiran’s daughter Roma, the accused physically abused her mother, which prompted her to leave him and start life afresh in Delhi.

The family visited Bihar around two months back for a funeral, during which Pramod pretended to have renounced violence, Roma told police.

“On the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, he killed my mother after she again refused to accompany him back to Bihar,” Roma alleged.

Police said a hammer believed to have been used for the murder was found inside Kiran’s room.

Footage from a Delhi government CCTV camera installed in front of the house captured Pramod leaving the premises at 12.50 am after changing his clothes.

Police have launched a manhunt for the accused, the officer said.

“Teams have been dispatched to railway stations and bus terminals to trace his movements. We are working on multiple leads to arrest the accused,” the DCP said.