Ghaziabad: No signs of smothering in autopsy after woman’s body exhumed

Police, however, arrested the woman’s husband on Sunday based on the statement of his five-year-old son

The Ghaziabad police have not found any signs of murder by smothering or strangulation in the autopsy of the body a 27-year-old woman, Rukhsar (single name), who died on August 20, and whose body was exhumed two days later after her five-year-old son told his uncle that he saw his father assault her and smother her with a pillow, police said on Sunday, adding that they have now preserved the woman’s viscera to check for signs of poisoning.

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Police, however, arrested the woman’s husband, identified as Mohammad Shahnawaz, on Sunday based on the statement of his five-year-old son.

“There was no indication of murder as such in the autopsy. However, the viscera got preserved for further analysis to find out if there is any indication of poisoning etc. We will pursue and fast-track the viscera findings as the reports take time to arrive. However, we arrested Shahnawaz for murder on Sunday,” said Naresh Kumar, assistant commissioner of police of Masuri/Muradnagar circle.

When asked whether police had any concrete evidence for murder as the autopsy did not conclude anything like smothering or strangulation as stated in the FIR according to the claims made by the five-year-old boy, the ACP said, “We have arrested Shahnawaz on the basis of statements made by his minor son.”

Police also released a statement saying that Shahnawaz told them during questioning that he smothered Rukhsar at 3.30am on August 20, and later informed his in-laws that Rukhsar had died after ingesting medicines.

Rukhsar had two children – a daughter aged seven and a son aged five.

Her body was exhumed by police after her brother, Mohammad Imran, on August 22 got an FIR for murder registered against Shahnawaz at Masuri police station in Ghaziabad. Imran had previously said that on August 20, Rukhsar’s in-laws called and told him that she died of some ailment.

“Later, we brought her body to Pilkhuwa and buried it there. However, my five-year-old nephew on August 21 told us that his father, on the intervening night of August 19/20, beat up his mother severely and later smothered her with a pillow, killing her. We immediately informed the police in Pilkhuwa and later reached out to Ghaziabad police for help,” Imran had said.

The FIR against Shahnawaz was registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 103(1) (murder).

Her brother Imran had said fights were common between the couple and his sister was often subjected to domestic violence. “My brother-in-law used to beat up my sister and kept saying he suspected her character. Whenever she complained to us, we would meet with Shahnawaz and try to patch things up. About eight months ago, she again returned to our house in Pilkhuwa and stayed there after Shahnawaz beat her up. However, with the intervention of the elders of the two families, Shahnawaz again took her back with him and both started living in a rented house in Masuri (Ghaziabad),” Imran said in his complaint to Masuri police station in Ghaziabad.