Based on the chilling closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera evidence showing them carrying the victim’s body to dispose of it, a local court on Tuesday sentenced a 38-year-old woman and her 32-year-old male accomplice to life imprisonment for the murder of her husband.
The duo had murdered Siya Ram, 41, a mechanic from Muzaffarpur, Bihar, and dumped his body in a gutter in Madanpur, Sector 26, Panchkula, in February 2022.
According to the prosecution, Ram was living with his wife, Anita Devi, in a rented accommodation in Madanpur, while Sanjay Kumar Gupta, a native of Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, was their neighbour.
The prosecution said Devi and Gupta were in an extramarital relationship. When Ram came to know about it, he confronted them, leading to a scuffle during which they attacked him with a chisel and later strangled him with a scarf.
CCTV footage obtained during the investigation showed Sanjay carrying the victim’s body on his shoulder while heading to dispose of it. The body was later recovered from a gutter near the village.
The crime came to light when the contractor of the victim’s brother showed him a photograph of a body that he had received on WhatsApp. The victim’s brother, a labourer residing in Chandigarh, identified the body and approached the police.
{{/usCountry}}The crime came to light when the contractor of the victim’s brother showed him a photograph of a body that he had received on WhatsApp. The victim’s brother, a labourer residing in Chandigarh, identified the body and approached the police.
{{/usCountry}}The investigation eventually led police to the victim’s wife and neighbour, who were arrested under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Additional sessions judge Bikramjit Aroura held Devi and Gupta guilty of murder and causing disappearance of evidence and sentenced them to life imprisonment. They were also ordered to pay fines of ₹50,000 each under Section 302 and ₹2,000 each under Section 201.