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5-yr-old girl’s murder decoded: Mom stomped on her stomach, live-in partner muffled screams
Accused duo arrested: police say girl killed for disapproving her mother’s illicit relationship;woman also tried to frame estranged hubby
LUCKNOW The five-year-old girl found dead in her home in Khandari Bazar locality of Qaiserbagh on Tuesday morning was allegedly killed by her mother and her live-in partner, both of whom were arrested on Wednesday morning. The woman, Roshni Khan alias Naaz, 25, stomped on her daughter’s stomach while her partner, Udit Jaiswal, 32, covered her mouth to muffle her screams, resulting in the child’s death, said deputy commissioner of police (west) Vishwajeet Srivastava.
The girl was against her mother’s illicit relationship and wanted to live with her father, Shahrukh Khan, 33. On July 13 night, she was insisting on living with her father when Roshni first beat up her daughter black and blue, before taking the extreme step, he informed.
Roshni and Udit kept the body in the bed box and locked it, leaving the house on July 14 morning. They had a booze party at multiple places before checking in to a hotel in Hussainganj area. On July 15 morning, Roshni reached her house, took the body out and placed it in front of the AC to reduce its odour by spraying deodorants, said police.
“In order to frame her husband, Shahrukh Khan, she called the police control room on 112 telling the police that her husband came to the house and fled after killing her daughter,” the DCP added.
The incident took place on July 13 night, but the matter came to police on Tuesday while the arrests were made on Wednesday after the police found the woman’s theory wrong who claimed that her estranged husband killed their daughter.
“Earlier, on the complaint of the woman, an FIR of murder was registered against Shahrukh and all three were detained for questioning. However, their statements were found contradictory. The police team checked the CCTV footage and spoke to neighbours. Call details and other inputs exposed the accused’s lies,” said the officer.
According to Srivastava, the motive behind the murder was to frame the husband. The woman had lodged a case against her in-laws, including her husband, in the past “The house where she lives also belongs to her husband Shahrukh which she wanted to grab,” the DCP added.
‘Woman met co-accused at a club, was addicted to luxurious lifestyle’’
According to her in-laws, Roshni was earlier a bar dancer in Delhi clubs. After marrying Shahrukh, she started going to clubs in Lucknow and met co-accused Udit Jaiswal four years ago at a club in Vibhuti Khand. During interrogation, Jaiswal said he met Roshni in the club and was impressed by her dance.
“Roshni was so fond of alcohol and partying that she used to go to clubs despite opposition from her family members. She used to lock her daughter in the room and go to the club. She would return late at night with multiple drunk friends and often create a ruckus in the neighborhood,” said Ramrati, a neighbour.
“Roshni rarely attended any social gathering like birthday parties in the neighborhood. She was active on social media... she used to make reels of her dance and parties and post them on Instagram,” said another neighbour Sharafat Ali.
When Roshni and Udit decided to live together, the former sent her brother-in-law, mother-in-law and two sisters-in-law to jail by trapping them in false cases. “She also assaulted her husband and threw him out of the house, which belonged to him. She started staying there with her lover,” said a neighbour.
Shahrukh, who had been forced to move out of the house following repeated disputes, had filed a police complaint against Roshni in May, said inspector Anjani Kumar Mishra, in-charge of the investigation.
According to the in-laws, about three months ago, Roshni hatched a conspiracy to send her brother-in-law, mother-in-law and both sisters-in-law to jail. “For this, she made a video of her daughter and posted it on social media. She made her narrate an incident of rape. She made her say that Bade Papa (the woman’s brother-in-law) raped her. After the video went viral on social media, the police sent the woman’s brother-in-law, mother-in-law and both sisters-in-law to jail. The mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were accused of helping in the rape. She did all this as part of a conspiracy to throw out the in-laws from the house,” said a family member.
According to police, Shahrukh was at his sister’s place on the day of the incident. Roshni’s brother-in-law, mother-in-law and sisters-in-law were granted bail on Monday.
‘Girl saw mother in intimate act with lover’
The five-year-old girl’s killing was the fallout of her seeing her mother in an intimate act with her paramour, said police.
“After sustained questioning, Roshni broke down and confessed that she and her lover Udit Jaiswal were caught in an intimate act by the child, who threatened to tell her father about it. In a panic to hide their affair, the two strangled the girl to death and later stayed in a hotel, plotting to frame the husband,” the Lucknow Police stated in a release.
A senior police officer stated that after killing the girl, Roshni and Udit had a bath, consumed drugs and liquor, had sex next to her body, ate dinner and went to sleep in the bedroom.
HOW THE CASE WAS CRACKED
* When the police found the girl’s body, it was stinking. There were insects too, suggesting that the murder was committed a day or two earlier.
* Roshni’s lover Udit Jaiswal broke down during police interrogation telling the truth of the incident.
* The post-mortem examination of the body was done by a panel of doctors. The report revealed that the girl died due to suffocation. The report also confirmed death 36 to 48 hours before the autopsy.
TIMELINE OF THE CASE
JULY 13 (NIGHT): Daughter insists on staying with her father; Roshni and her live-in partner Udit allegedly beat and suffocate the girl to death; Body is stuffed into the bed box.
JULY 14 (MORNING): Accused duo leave the house, roam the city, and party at multiple locations.
JULY 15: (EARLY MORNING) On her return, Roshni tries to suppress odour from the decomposing body using air freshener and air-conditioning, calls 112 to falsely claim that her estranged husband murdered the child.
JULY 16: Contradictions in Roshni’s claims emerge during a police probe. CCTV, CDRs and witness testimonies disprove her version. Roshni and Udit are arrested.
