Gurugram: Man kills wife for slapping daughter, then surrenders to police

The accused was identified as Ketan Pathak, who worked in a cargo section of Noida International Airport

A 34-year-old man killed his wife for slapping their four-year-old daughter, and then slapping him when he asked her not to, during a domestic dispute at their house in Rajendra Park Block B in Gurugram on Sunday night, police said on Monday. The man then walked up to the Anand Garden police post and surrendered to police after giving a confession, after which he was apprehended, police added.

The victim was identified as Jyoti Pathak, 31. The incident took place between 6pm and 6.30pm. (Representational image)

The accused was identified as Ketan Pathak, who worked in a cargo section of Noida International Airport and had come home on an off day on Sunday. The victim was identified as Jyoti Pathak, 31. The incident took place between 6pm and 6.30pm.

“Around 6pm an argument took place between the couple over domestic issues in their bedroom in front of both their daughters aged four and three years, on the first floor of the house. Jyoti slapped the elder daughter several times and Pathak when stopped her, she slapped him, too. In a fit of rage, Pathak assaulted Jyoti and strangled her using one of her leggings lying on the bed,” said a police officer.

Pathak’s father, mother and sister-in-law were also in the house on the ground floor at the time and heard the argument between the couple but did not realise that Pathak had killed her. Pathak’s brother, a doctor, was not in the house at the time.

After the murder, Pathak tried to die by suicide by hanging himself, and formed a noose by tying a cloth to the ceiling fan. But he changed his mind and walked to the nearby police post, where he told a woman police officer that he has murdered his wife. Police took him into custody and went to his house, where they found Jyoti’s body lying on a bed in a room on the first floor of the house with the leggings lying near her head. Police said she bled from the nose and mouth. Police also found the noose hanging from the ceiling fan.

Police said that Jyoti was from Bindapur in Delhi. She had lost her parents several years back and was raised by her elder siblings. Police said that the couple had a love marriage six years ago.

One of the couple’s neighbours, requesting anonymity, said they had heard the couple fight frequently. “We came to know about the murder only after a large number of police vehicles suddenly reached their home,” he said.

Sandeep Kumar, public relations officer of the Gurugram police, said that none of the victim’s family members have yet come forward with a complaint.

“We have suo motu registered an FIR and arrested Pathak. He has been kept at the Rajendra Park police station and has not spoken much since his confession,” he said, adding that further investigation was underway.