Pregnant woman kills mother-in-law with hammer, sets Delhi house on fire, held

Aafreen, who is around four to five months pregnant, allegedly bludgeoned 58-year-old Nasrin Ishatakh and then attempted to burn her body.

A 32-year-old pregnant woman has been arrested for allegedly killing her mother-in-law with a hammer and setting their house on fire in north Delhi’s Wazirabad, with police calling it a planned murder linked to a family property dispute.

Delhi murder: Pregnant woman accused of killing mother-in-law over property dispute (Representative image)

Police said the woman, Aafreen, who is around four to five months pregnant, allegedly bludgeoned 58-year-old Nasrin Ishatakh and then attempted to burn her body and the first floor of the two-storey house to avoid suspicion. Investigators have detained and questioned other family members.

A PCR call about a house fire was received on November 19. A senior police officer said, “We were told during the PCR call that an old woman is trapped inside the house. SHO and ACP reached the spot. Fire on the first floor of a two-storey building. The fire was doused after some time, and the charred body of a woman was found. She was taken to hospital, where she was declared dead.

Police said part of the house was also damaged. Nasrin lived with her three sons and a daughter-in-law. Two sons, Adnan and Rizwan, lived on the first floor and were at work when the incident took place. Rizwan works as a teacher at a nearby school. Her third son, Salman, lived with Aafreen on the second floor. The couple married in April this year.

Raja Banthia, DCP North, said, “At the time of the incident, only Nasrin and Aafreen were present inside. Others were at work. What looked like a fire accident later appeared to be suspicious. Aafreen gave multiple inconsistent statements. She initially alleged that three or four men assaulted her and robbed jewellery. Later, she said she was also struck with a hammer. The crime team and FSL inspected the scene. We did find a bloodstained hammer, and the smell of kerosene was found.”

The autopsy showed Nasrin died from severe head injuries after four blows to the head. Police registered a case of murder after receiving the autopsy. Another officer said the post mortem, evidence and statements indicated a planned killing over property disputes. Aafreen has been placed in police custody.