Ghaziabad: Body of landlady, killed by tenants, found in suitcase

The deceased had rented out her second flat – a fully furnished three-bedroom apartment – to the Guptas in February for a monthly rent of ₹18,000

A 48-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her tenants in a Ghaziabad high-rise on Wednesday night after she went to their flat to collect five months of pending rent, police said on Thursday, adding that her body was found stuffed inside a trolley bag hidden under a bed.

The accused – Jay Gupta (37), a transporter, and his wife Aakriti Gupta (32) – were arrested on Thursday after police recovered the body from their fifth-floor apartment of the Aura Chimera society in Raj Nagar Extension. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The accused – Jay Gupta (37), a transporter, and his wife Aakriti Gupta (32) – were arrested on Thursday after police recovered the body from their fifth-floor apartment of the Aura Chimera society in Raj Nagar Extension. An FIR has been registered against the couple for murder with common intention and destruction of evidence.

When Sharma did not return, Minni became suspicious and went up to the flat to check. The tenants allegedly gave evasive answers about Sharma’s whereabouts. Alarmed, Minni contacted Sharma’s husband, who rushed from Faridabad to Ghaziabad. Along with friends and neighbours, he searched the society before informing the police around 11.15pm.

A police team from Nandgram police station reached the flat and conducted a search. Officers found a red trolley bag under the bed in which they found Sharma’s blood-stained body.

“During interrogation, the accused confessed to killing the woman following an altercation over unpaid rent,” said Umesh Kumar, station house officer of Nandgram police station. “The woman had come to demand rent, and an argument escalated. Aakriti allegedly strangled her using a dupatta, while her husband struck her on the head with a pressure cooker.”

Police said the couple then stuffed the body into the trolley bag and hid it under the bed, allegedly planning to dispose of it later. However, suspicion raised by the domestic help and the quick arrival of the victim’s husband thwarted their plans.

In his confession, the man told investigators that his transport business had shut down about six months ago, leaving him unable to pay rent. He said he had also sold his house in Sanjay Nagar and moved into the rented flat. “The landlady had come several times earlier asking for rent. On Wednesday night, the argument got out of control,” he told police, according to officials familiar with the interrogation.

Deputy commissioner of police (City Zone) Dhawal Jaiswal said preliminary findings suggested strangulation, along with a head injury. “The body was recovered intact. Claims circulating on social media that the body was cut into pieces are incorrect,” he said.

The body has been sent for post-mortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death. Police said further investigation is under way, including reconstruction of the crime scene.