Husband arrested two days after woman’s body found in suitcase at Iffco Chowk

Police said the 21-year-old woman had eloped with him against the wishes of her family and they got married on February 22 last year. They were living in Sirhaul and had a one-year-old child

Two days after a woman’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase dumped at Iffco Chowk, on the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, police on Wednesday arrested her 22-year-old husband from his residence in Sirhaul in Sector 18 on charges of strangling her to death.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said on Sunday night, the couple had a heated argument following which he strangled the woman to death. (Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

Police said the 21-year-old woman had eloped with him against the wishes of her family and they got married on February 22 last year. They were living in Sirhaul and had a one-year-old child.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said on Sunday night, the couple had a heated argument following which he strangled the woman to death.

“He then took a kitchen knife to her right wrist where she had his name inked. That knife has also been recovered. Prima facie, domestic dispute appears to be the motive. However, that might change as the suspect is yet to be thoroughly interrogated,” Sangwan said.

According to the police, the suspect purchased a suitcase from the market, stuffed her body inside it after stripping off the woman’s clothes, finger rings, and watch -- in an effort to mask her identity -- and hired a e-rickshaw to Iffco Chowk on Monday evening to dump the suitcase there. He later returned home but his movements were captured by a CCTV camera at Iffco Chowk.

Investigators said the e-rickshaw driver was traced and he helped them reach the suspect’s residence in Sirhaul, which is hardly two kilometres from the spot where the body was dumped. They said that the driver identified the suspect as well as the suitcase which he had transported that day.

Sangwan said the suspect was taken on a day’s police remand on Wednesday for interrogation.

He said the suspect has claimed that his wife used to demand expensive gifts such as a mobile phone and TV, which he could not provide her due to financial constraints -- he worked as a helper at a private firm in Udyog Vihar.

“These demands led to the frequent fights and feuds and ultimately ended in murder. However, all these facts have to be corroborated,” the ACP said, adding that the man was overconfident that the police would not be able to identify the body.

“He had not fled his home and continued to live there and go to work as usual. Police verified from his neighbours that his wife was not seen after Sunday night. He was not worried about her family finding out either, as they had already cut all ties with her,” he said.

Police are yet to verify from where she sustained the burn injuries found on the body. Police said the suspect had studied up to Class 12 and is a native of Banda, Uttar Pradesh, while the woman was from Sultanpur, also in Uttar Pradesh.