Palwal man kills wife, daughter; flees with infant son: Police

Bodies found at home after suicide claim; dowry harassment alleged, FIR against seven as police launch raids to trace accused and rescue infant.

A 31-year-old man allegedly murdered his wife and minor daughter at their home in Palwal’s Kithwari before fleeing with his infant son, police said on Monday.

Family alleges dowry demands, pressure for son; FIR filed under BNS, police search for accused relatives and missing infant. (File photo)

The deceased, 27, from Mathura in Uttar Pradesh, and her four-year-old daughter. The accused, a property dealer in Palwal, is absconding along with his family members and the infant, who was born at the district civil hospital on April 2.

The deceased’s brother alleged that his sister was murdered over dowry demands and pressure to have a son. “The husband and in-laws were harassing her for ₹25 lakh in cash and a Mahindra Scorpio even after six years of marriage,” he told HT.

Police said the woman’s brother-in-law initially informed her family that she had died by suicide. Her relatives reached Palwal from Mathura on Saturday night and found the house open, with both bodies lying inside, while the husband, his parents, and the infant were missing.

Inspector Hari Kishan, station house officer of Chandhut police station, said the woman’s family has alleged prolonged harassment over dowry demands. “They have alleged that her husband and in-laws were pressuring her to ask her father for a Scorpio. They also claimed she was tortured for giving birth to a girl and that the family wanted a boy when she became pregnant again,” he said.

Kishan said prima facie evidence suggests murder. “Their bodies were lying on the bed inside the house. It appears they were killed either by strangulation or poison. The husband, along with the infant and all the in-laws, has fled. Raids are on to arrest them and rescue the infant,” he said.

Police said the autopsy report is awaited to confirm the cause of death, and viscera samples have been preserved for forensic analysis.

Based on a complaint by the woman’s family, an FIR was registered at Chandhut police station on Sunday against seven suspects, including the husband and in-laws, under Sections 103(1) (murder), 80 (dowry death), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The bodies were handed over to the family after the autopsy. No prior complaint was filed by either family, officers said.