A 29-year-old man and his mother have been arrested for allegedly killing his wife for dowry at their house in the EWS Colony, Dhanas, police said on Saturday.
Ram Karan, who has a limp in one of his legs and does odd jobs to make ends meet, had married Sadhna, 24, a year and a half ago.
“Ram Karan used to beat up Sadhna often, demanding dowry. His mother, Sheela, 50, also used to harass the victim and instigate her son to thrash his wife,” said an investigating official, privy to the matter.
On Thursday evening, too, Sadhna was thrashed, following which she fell unconscious. Seeing an opportunity, Sheela held her legs while Ram tied a dupatta around her neck. Throwing the dupatta over a hook fixed in the wall, Ram pulled it, killing Sadhna of asphyxiation, said police.
After committing the crime, Ram Karan allegedly asked a friend to get a freezer on rent from Sector 34.
“Sadhna's body was kept in the freezer for six hours to avoid pungent smell from spreading in the house. Trying to pass it off as a natural death, the mother-son duo then called Sadhna’s relatives and informed them that she had died suddenly after complaining of stomachache,” said a police official privy to the matter.
Probing officials said Sadhna’s maternal uncle arrived from Ludhiana in the wee hours of Friday after receiving a call from her elder brother Harikesh, 36, who works in Bengaluru.
{{/usCountry}}Probing officials said Sadhna’s maternal uncle arrived from Ludhiana in the wee hours of Friday after receiving a call from her elder brother Harikesh, 36, who works in Bengaluru.
{{/usCountry}}“On seeing her body, he suspected foul play and called police,” said the official.
There were multiple strangulation marks visible on the victim’s neck, said a probing official.
Meanwhile, Harikesh also reached the city and on his complaint a case was registered at the Sarangpur police station.
The mother-son duo has been booked under Section 304B (dowry death) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code, said deputy superintendent of police Charanjeet Singh, who is the official spokesperson of the department. Both were produced in court and sent to judicial custody on Saturday.