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Gonda woman murdered by husband in front of son: Police
Officials said the accused, Guniram Gupta, 40, first struck the woman, Aarti Devi, on the head with a hammer and then slit her throat with a knife when she fell. After the attack, he left their son at his in-laws’ home and fled. The incident came to light when the child informed his maternal uncle that his father had killed his mother.
A 36-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her husband on Saturday in Gonda district, in front of their five-year-old son, nearly eight years after they had married against their families’ wishes, senior police officials confirmed.
Officials said the accused, Guniram Gupta, 40, first struck the woman, Aarti Devi, on the head with a hammer and then slit her throat with a knife when she fell. After the attack, he left their son at his in-laws’ home and fled. The incident came to light when the child informed his maternal uncle that his father had killed his mother.
The uncle rushed to the house and found Aarti Devi’s blood-soaked body. Police arrived shortly after and sent the body for postmortem examination.
The deceased’s brother, Vinay Kumar, said Aarti Devi had married Guniram Gupta eight years ago for love, despite family opposition. Frequent quarrels had reportedly occurred between the couple, who have a five-year-old son, Kanha. Guniram ran a fruit cart about 100 metres from their home.
ASP (West) Radheshyam Rai said the incident occurred in Nawabganj, roughly 45 km from Gonda headquarters. Vinay Kumar told police that around 8 am, Guniram left Kanha at his house, saying he had some work and would return later. “After he left, my nephew said Papa had killed Mummy and that the house was covered in blood,” Vinay said. He then visited the house to discover the tragedy.
He added that the initial probe suggested the husband murdered his wife over a domestic dispute. Five police teams have been formed to arrest the absconding accused, and the cyber cell is assisting in the investigation. A case has been registered based on the complaint filed by the deceased woman’s brother.
During questioning, neighbours told police that Guniram and Aarti often fought. On Saturday morning, they heard loud shouting and arguing from the house but assumed it was the couple’s usual quarrel and never imagined it would end in murder.
