Man kills wife in hotel room in Delhi, arrested in Mathura

A 24-year-old man allegedly strangled his wife to death in a hotel room in Paharganj in central Delhi on Friday night, and then fled to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where he confessed to the police in the early hours of Saturday, police said

A 24-year-old man allegedly strangled his wife to death in a hotel room in Paharganj in central Delhi on Friday night, and then fled to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh (UP) where he confessed to the police in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

The victim was identified as Kirti Sharma. (Representational image)

The victim was identified as Kirti Sharma. Her body was found after a UP police sub-inspector (SI) took details from the man and contacted the manager to verify the accused’s claims, after which the man was arrested, police said.

“The arrested man, Gopal Sharma, confessed to killing his wife because he suspected her of having an affair,” said deputy commissioner of police (central) Nidhin Valsan.

At 2.45am, the hotel manager received a call from a sub-inspector from Highway Mathura police station, who asked the manager to inspect the room where a couple had checked into on Friday evening. The manager found the woman’s body and called the Paharganj police station at 3am, after which a police team arrived on the scene.

“The manager found the woman lying dead on the bed. The SI had told him that the woman was murdered and the accused was with him. The manager then informed us,” Valsan said.

Kirti was originally from Udham Singh Nagar in Uttarakhand. On Friday at 6.35 pm, the couple checked into the Paharganj hotel. At 9pm, Gopal left the hotel alone on the pretext of bringing food, the DCP said.

“He fled to Mathura and made a call on the police helpline number 112, saying that he had killed his wife. He was apprehended by the Highway Mathura Police and questioned during which he gave details of the hotel where he strangled his wife,” added DCP Valsan.

Police said they were interrogating Gopal to ascertain the exact sequence of events leading to the murder and why he came to Delhi with his wife.