Two held after woman’s body found in Shahdara in east Delhi

Delhi Police arrested two men in connection with the murder of 35-year-old Anjali Kumar, found dead in a Shahdara flat; husband Ashish is absconding.

A day after the Delhi Police recovered the decomposing body of a 35-year-old woman from a box bed at a flat in Shahdara, officers on Saturday said they have arrested two people in connection with the case.

The house from where the body was recovered. (HT Photo)

Police identified the arrested accused as tuition teacher Vivekanand Mishra, 64, who owned the flat, and Abhay Kumar Jha, 29. They said initial investigations suggest the woman, identified as Ludhiana resident Anjali Kumar, was killed on March 23.

Anjali’s husband Ashish Kumar is also a suspect, and is currently absconding. According to investigators, Jha is a resident of Supaul district in Bihar, and Mishra and Ashish are originally from the same district. All three knew each other for many years, said police.

However, police admitted, they have still not learnt the motive for the murder.

Giving details of the case, officers said on Friday evening, the police control room received a call from residents of DDA Flats at Satyam Enclave about a foul smell coming from an apartment.

“We sent a team and found that the house was locked from outside and some blood was found coming out from the back door. When we opened the door and entered a room, a decomposed body of a lady was found kept in a bag which was wrapped in a blanket and kept in a bed box,” additional deputy commissioner of police (Shahdara) Neha Yadav said.

Police said the accused allegedly strangled the woman to death, put her body in a bag, wrapped it in a blanket and placed it inside the bed. The bag was covered with other clothes, and incense sticks were found inside the room, ostensibly to mask the smell of the decomposing body. Investigators, quoting neighbours, said Mishra had also bought multiple phenyl bottles and was acting “suspicious” for days.

During the investigation, a police officer said, it was discovered that Anjali used to live with her parents in Ludhiana, while Ashish lived with Mishra in Delhi. Around last week, he said, Jha travelled to Ludhiana, and then he, along with the Kumars, travelled to Delhi to Mishra’s apartment.

“We don’t know what happened but a fight broke out between the woman and her husband. She was killed on March 23. After the crime, Ashish and Jha both left the city on March 24-25, but for some reason, Jha returned,” the officer said, on condition of anonymity.

DCP (Shahdara) Prashant Gautam said after Anjali’s body was discovered on Friday, Mishra was swiftly tracked down and was apprehended from Surajmal Park in Anand Vihar) in the evening, following which he told police he committed the crime with Ashish and Jha.

“He also identified the deceased as Ashish’s wife. We found that Jha had returned to Delhi on a flight to help Mishra dispose of the body. When he learned about Mishra’s arrest, he tried to flee to Bihar. Our team worked with the railway police and nabbed him from the Aligarh railway station,” the DCP said.

Gautam said it was a planned murder. “Mishra’s phone revealed that he was searching for methods to dispose of a body using chemicals. He was also searching for open manholes and open drains near his residence over the last few days,” he said.

The officer quoted above said they are yet to learn what the motive was for the murder.

“Everyone is giving a different story to us. We are trying to corroborate versions to see what happened. It looks like Mishra and Ashish were friends and lived together for a while. It is suspected that Ashish cheated on Anjali, and she caught him. Ashish is still on the run so the motive is not confirmed,” he said.