Ghaziabad: Woman strangled, stuffed in suitcase by in-laws; 3 held

The body was found around 7.45am on Tuesday, near the Behta Hazipur-Bandhala road, packed inside a suitcase

Three members of a family were arrested on charges of killing a 25-year-old woman, stuffing her body into a suitcase, and dumping it near Loni Border in Ghaziabad in the early hours of Tuesday. Police said the suspects — a 52-year-old man and his two sons — carried the suitcase on a motorcycle for nearly 17km before discarding it, and were tracked down after officers scanned footage from over 500 CCTV cameras.

Kavita. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The body was found around 7.45am on Tuesday, near the Behta Hazipur-Bandhala road, packed inside a suitcase. No identity documents were found with the body. A forensic team visited the spot, and police circulated photos and pamphlets to help identify the victim.

On Wednesday, a post-mortem report revealed that the woman had died of strangulation. Later that day, the woman was identified by her first name as Kavita, originally from Punjab, who had married Saurabh Singh, 22, four years ago. The couple lived with his seven-member family in a rented home in Ambika Vihar, Delhi.

The accused have been identified as Harvir Singh, 52, and his sons Sumit Singh, 22, and Guddu Singh, 18. According to deputy commissioner of police (rural) Surendra Nath Tiwari, Kavita had an argument on June 7 with her sister-in-law, Shivani Singh. On June 9, she allegedly assaulted Shivani’s one-and-a-half-year-old daughter, prompting a confrontation with her brother-in-law, Sumit.

“Sumit pushed her onto the bed and strangled her with a scarf, while smothering her face with a bedsheet. Harvir held her legs as she resisted,” said Tiwari. Saurabh, who had recently taken up work at a brick kiln, had left home a week before the incident. After the murder, Sumit and Guddu allegedly helped dispose of the body.

Police said Harvir and Guddu were seen transporting the suitcase on a Ghaziabad-registered motorcycle around 2.20am Tuesday. Later, they were captured by CCTV cameras returning without the suitcase. This lead helped police trace the bike owner and apprehend the suspects from their home town in Delhi.

Police have found that Kavita’s in-laws disapproved of her, as Saurabh had married her against their wishes. “We were informed that Singh met Kavita at a railway station, and they later got married,” said assistant commissioner of police (Ankur Vihar) Ajay Kumar Singh.

“Sumit further revealed that after the killing, they involved Guddu to help dispose of the body. After packing it into a suitcase and wrapping it with two bedsheets, Harvir and Guddu left home on a bike and dumped the suitcase in Ghaziabad,” DCP Tiwari said.

The suspects did not inform Saurabh about Kavita’s death. When he returned home, he was told she had gone to visit her parents in Punjab. “As of now, we have arrested the prime suspects, and the investigation is ongoing to cross-examine their claims,” ACP Singh said.

A case murder case was registered at Loni Border police station and further investigation is underway.