Hapur: Man killed by wife, her boyfriend and aides for refusing divorce

A case under sections 140(1) (kidnapping), 103(1) (murder), 238 (disappearance of evidence), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS has been registered at the Link Road police station

A 34-year-old man was killed by his wife, her boyfriend, and two hired associates after he allegedly refused to grant her a divorce, police said on Saturday. The accused later dumped his body in a forest area in Pilkhuwa, Hapur, on the night of September 24. The deceased’s dismembered skeletal remains were recovered from the forest on October 7, police added. 

The accused, Pooja and Ashish. (Sakib Ali/HT)

The victim was identified as Yogesh Singh, originally from Bijnor, who lived with his wife, Pooja Singh, 31, and their two sons, aged seven and four, at a rented accommodation in Sahibabad, Ghaziabad. Yogesh worked in a factory and also operated a bike taxi part-time, police said.  The couple married in 2013.

According to Sweta Kumari Yadav, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Sahibabad, “On October 2, Pooja approached the Link Road police station in Ghaziabad and filed a missing person’s complaint for her husband, Yogesh, alleging that he went missing while going to Hapur for some work on his bike.” 

While police were tracing Yogesh’s location through electronic surveillance, his brother, a resident of Bijnor, approached investigators and expressed suspicion that Pooja might be involved in his disappearance. Police said the last active location of Yogesh’s phone was in Hapur. 

“When we shared Yogesh’s photographs with Hapur police, no clues were found, but it was revealed that an abandoned bike was discovered near the forest area of Pilkhuwa,” said ACP Yadav. “On October 7, when multiple police teams searched the forest area, dismembered skeletal remains of Yogesh and his clothes were found scattered in a large area,” the ACP added. 

Police suspect wild animals may have devoured the body. “If the investigation had been delayed two to three days more, it would have been hard to recover his body parts,” Yadav added. Forensic team collected the DNA for further process.

During the probe, CCTV footage showed Pooja, her boyfriend Ashish, and two of his associates, Chandra Pal (from Jhansi) and Praveen, hired for ₹1 lakh, moving together. “They were interrogated and it was found they had been planning to kill Yogesh for the past two to three months,” said a senior police officer, part of the investigation, requesting anonymity. 

Police said Ashish, originally from Bulandshahr, and Pooja met through a mutual friend three years ago.  

According to police, two previous attempts to kill Yogesh had failed. “It came to the fore that on September 24, Pooja left home for Chandpur for some work and called Yogesh to pick her up from Pilkhuwa after seemingly hatching the murder plot with Ashish,” said ACP Yadav. 

“When Yogesh reached Pilkhuwa around 9.30pm, he saw Ashish with her and a fight ensued. During the argument, Chandrapal approached from behind and slit Yogesh’s neck with a switchblade. Yogesh tried to flee into the forest, but Ashish, Pooja, and Chandrapal chased and killed him after slitting his neck multiple times,” Yadav said, adding that the accused left the body in the forest and returned home. 

Police said Ashish had moved near Yogesh’s residence a month ago to monitor and plan the murder. During interrogation, Pooja reportedly told police she wanted to live with Ashish and had sought divorce several times. “But Yogesh was not allowing her to leave him,” Yadav said, adding there were no prior reports of domestic violence.

A case under sections 140(1) (kidnapping), 103(1) (murder), 238 (disappearance of evidence), and 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) has been registered at the Link Road police station. While Pooja and Ashish have been arrested, efforts are on to nab Chandrapal and Praveen, police said. Further investigation is underway.