Five-month pregnant woman killed over dowry, body dumped in Hindon

The couple fought after Kumar demanded ₹2 lakh dowry and during the fight, he and his brother strangled Kavita to death, said Avdesh Pratap Singh, SHO, Sector 63 police station

A 27-year-old man was arrested on Monday for allegedly strangling his five-month pregnant wife to death with the help of his brother, and dumping her body in river Hindon in Noida’s Sector 63 on early February 15, the police said on Tuesday, adding that the motive for the murder was dowry.

Her husband Kumar and his brother Raja Babu, 20, who also works at a garment stitching company in Sector 65, were arrested from Garhi roundabout (AFP/representational image)

According to the police, the husband -- identified as Ajit Kumar -- was arrested after the deceased woman’s father approached the Noida police and raised suspicions on him.

The woman’s body was discovered floating in the Hindon after three days on Sunday.

“The deceased was identified as Kavita, 25, a native of Badaun in Uttar Pradesh. She got married to an Aligarh-based man, Ajit Kumar, around four years ago,” said Avdesh Pratap Singh, station house officer, station house officer Sector 63 police station, adding that the woman was five months pregnant at the time of her death.

She is survived by a one-and-a-half-year-old son, he said.

Her husband Kumar, who works as a supervisor at a company engaged in stitching garments in Sector 65, resides at a rented accommodation in Bahlolpur in Sector 63, Noida, said police.

“When Kavita was unreachable for three days and her father Mahipal did not get a satisfactory response from Kumar’s native home in Aligarh, he reached Noida on Sunday. Kumar told him that Kavita left home after a dispute with him,” said SHO Singh.

Mahipal suspected Kumar’s involvement in Kavita’s disappearance, and approached the Sector 63 police station on Sunday. He informed police that Kavita was missing and Kumar might be involved in her disappearance.

“While searching for Kavita, we were informed by the Ecotech 3 police that an unidentified woman’s body was recovered from the Hindon under the jurisdiction of Ecotech 3 police station,” said the SHO.

Kavita’s father identified the body as that of his daughter and shared with the police that Kumar was pressuring her for the past sometime, the officer said, adding that with the help of manual intelligence, her husband Kumar and his brother Raja Babu, 20, who also works at a garment stitching company in Sector 65, were arrested from Garhi roundabout.

During questioning, Kumar revealed that “on the intervening night of February 14 and 15, a fight broke out between the two after Kumar allegedly demanded ₹2 lakh as dowry. During the heated arguments, Kumar and his brother strangled Kavita to death using a scarf,” the SHO said.

“To hide the body, Kumar and Babu took it near Char Murti flyover on Kumar’s motorcycle, pretending that Kavita was unwell and was being taken to the hospital. They then dumped the body into the Hindon around 3am on February 15,” he added.

The CCTV footage also showed the brothers duo carrying Kavita’s body on a motorcycle, covering it with a blanket, said police.

A case under sections 304-B (dowry death), 498-A (for cruelty for dowry)), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offense) of the Indian Penal Code and Dowry Prohibition Act was registered at Sector 63 police station. The case is being further probed.