Delhi: Man arrested for killing partner in Vasant Kunj over ‘marriage’; killed wife 11 years ago too

On May 24, police recovered an unidentified woman’s body from a vacant plot near Church Road in Vasant Kunj, and identifying her body was the biggest challenge, said the DCP.

Police have arrested a 38-year-old man for allegedly killing his partner in south-west Delhi’s Vasant Kunj area on May 24, said officials on Friday.

He later dumped her body at the vacant plot near Church Road and escaped. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Manoj C, deputy commissioner of police (south-west), said that the accused -- identified as a resident of Vasant Kunj’s Masoodpur village -- allegedly also killed his wife in 2011, and was arrested back then and sent to Tihar jail for eight years, said the DCP.

On May 24, police recovered an unidentified woman’s body from a vacant plot near Church Road in Vasant Kunj, and identifying her body was the biggest challenge, said the DCP, adding that a dedicated police team has been investigating the case since then.

“It was inferred that the place from where the body was recovered was at a considerable distance from the main road, and could only be visited by the local residents. Also, a carry bag with a Mehrauli shop’s name was found. So, the police team focused on Mehrauli, Fatehpur Beri, Vasant Kunj and Kapashera areas during the investigation to zero down on the suspect. Police contacted ladies’ tailors from these areas to check if they could identify the body. Finally, the body of the deceased, who was a resident of Mehrauli, whose family reported a missing woman complaint on May 22, was identified,” said the DCP.

Police said that the victim’s husband, children and parents were interrogated and it was revealed during the investigation that the woman worked as a house help in Church Road’s Shanti Kunj, Vasant Kunj area. “While analysing CCTV footage from nearby areas, police spotted the woman with a man on the day of the incident. Police zeroed down on the man, and arrested him on Thursday,” according to the DCP.

The accused revealed during interrogation that “he was in a relationship with the deceased”. “When she started forcing him to marry her, he made a plan, and killed her,” said the DCP, adding that the accused -- who was in an inebriated state on the day of the incident -- took the woman to a secluded placeon his bicycle, had consensual intercourse with her, and then hit her head with a brick and killed her. He later dumped her body at the vacant plot near Church Road and escaped.