Man, wife held for killing brother in Delhi for making advances towards sister-in-law

Delhi police arrested a man and his wife for murdering his brother, Amit Kumar, over alleged inappropriate advances towards her. The body was found in April.

New Delhi

The accused, after strangulating the victim, allegedly wrapped the body in mattresses and blankets, tied it with ropes and dumped it outside the factory premises in an attempt to destroy evidence and avoid suspicion. (Representative photo)

Police on Tuesday said they solved a case of murder of a 42-year-old man, whose decomposed body was found stuffed inside mattresses and blankets outside a factory in west Delhi’s Rama Road two months ago, and arrested his brother and the brother’s wife for allegedly killing him after the victim reportedly made advances towards the woman.

The body of the victim, Amit Kumar, was recovered by the police on April 4 after passersby called the police control room over a foul-smelling sack lying outside a factory gate in Moti Nagar. An autopsy of the body revealed the cause of death as strangulation and blunt force injury to the head.

“During sustained interrogation and investigation conducted so far, it has prima facie emerged that the deceased, Amit Kumar, who was the elder brother of accused Gopal, allegedly attempted to establish an inappropriate physical relationship with his sister-in-law. The accused objected to this, resulting in frequent quarrels and strained relations between them. On the night of the incident, the trio again got into a fight during which the victim was strangulated. Further investigation regarding the exact sequence of events is in progress,” said Hareeshwar V Swami, deputy commissioner of police (west).

According to investigators, the accused, after strangulating Kumar, allegedly wrapped the body in mattresses and blankets, tied it with ropes and dumped it outside the factory premises in an attempt to destroy evidence and avoid suspicion.

The case initially posed a challenge for investigators as the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and remained unidentified. Police examined footage from more than 300 CCTV cameras, circulated over 200 hue and cry notices across Delhi-NCR and traced an e-cart that had been used to transport the body.

The investigation eventually led police to a rented accommodation in Loni, Ghaziabad, where forensic teams recovered blood-stained exhibits. Further technical surveillance and interrogation of witnesses helped establish the identity of the deceased and the involvement of his relatives. The accused were arrested on Monday.