Delhi: Woman nabbed for conspiring with partner to kill husband over ‘abuse’

While police are questioning Kavya to learn the motive for the alleged murder, the interrogation so far has revealed that she was allegedly a victim of domestic violence

A 20-year-old woman was nabbed on Tuesday for the alleged murder of her husband, a day after she accused him of domestic violence, investigators said on Wednesday.

New Delhi, India. 21st August 2024: The house where a man allegedly killing by his wife at a rented house in Dwarka's Dabri area in New Delhi. (HT Photo) To go with Himani’s Story (HT Photo)

Police identified the woman as Kavya Rana. They said the decomposing body of her husband Sachin Rana, 24, was recovered from their rented house in Dwarka’s Dabri area on August 17.

While police are questioning Kavya to learn the motive for the alleged murder, the interrogation so far has revealed that she was allegedly a victim of domestic violence, and was having an extramarital affair.

A man, who is yet to be identified and arrested, had visited the couple’s house secretively early on August 18and left hours later, police said.

Sachin and Kavya, originally from Baghpat in UP, got married in 2020 against their parents’ wishes. They had been living on the first floor of a residential building in Chanakya Place, Dabri for the last eight months. While Sachin used to work as a recovery agent for a private bank in Janakpuri, Kavya was a homemaker.

However, investigators decoded the sequence of events that led to what they suspect was a “planned” murder only after scanning CCTV footage of the house.

A police officer aware of the matter said in the CCTV footage, Sachin was seen coming back from work around 9pm on August 17. “Then around 4am on August 18, Kavya was seen coming downstairs and letting a man inside the house. He had covered himself with a bedsheet. At around 8am, she came downstairs again to see if the landlord was around. She went back upstairs, after which the man left. At around 9am, Kavya was seen leaving the house with a suitcase,” the officer said, asking not to be named.

The owner of the house, Dilip Chauhan, 42, said Kavya left the house on the morning of August 18. However, she returned the next night with a police officer and two other people.

“When asked, they said Kavya told police that Sachin had beaten her. When they went to the house, it was locked from the outside. Kavya said she didn’t have the keys and her husband may have fled,” Chauhan said. The three then left the house.

On August 20, the tenant living next door to the Ranas complained of a foul smell emanating from the house. “I smelt it too and called the police,” Chauhan said. When police broke open the door, they saw Sachin’s decomposed body with his throat slit on the bedroom floor. The torso was unclothed and a bedsheet covered his legs – the same one that the unidentified man had on, police said.

Subsequently, police called Kavya. Later that evening, she surrendered before the police.

During her interrogation, she told the police that she killed her husband, as she was tired of the domestic violence. She also said that she fell in love with another man, investigators said. “She is changing her versions. She first said that she fell in love with a man whom she met in 2020...She also said that he was the one who came to the house and helped her kill Sachin, but when we brought the man in for questioning, it was found that he was not involved. The man who came is yet to be identified,” the officer said.

A case on charges of murder was registered at Dabri police station.