Greater Noida: Man gets brother to kill his seven months pregnant wife, both held

Police said her brother-in-law allegedly slashed her neck twice using a knife, killing her on the spot. To mislead police, he also attacked his brother with the knife three to four times

A 35-year-old man allegedly killed his seven-month pregnant wife with the help of his younger brother and staged the crime scene before informing police that assailants attacked and killed his wife while they were walking back home from a market in Greater Noida on Wednesday night, said senior officers on Thursday.

The two suspects in police custody on Thursday. (HT Photo)

Police said her brother-in-law allegedly slashed her neck twice using a knife, killing her on the spot. To mislead police, he also attacked his brother with the knife three to four times.Then they called and alerted the police about the murder.

The deceased woman has been identified as Neeraj, 32 (single name), who hailed from Aligarh and resided with her family in Roza Jalalpur area of Bisrakh. She got married to Arjun Singh, 35, around five years ago, said police adding that Singh works at a dental clinic in Greater Noida and the couple has a three-year-old son.

“On Wednesday night, Singh and Neeraj had gone to a market near their home. Around 9.30pm, when they were walking home, Singh’s younger brother Ajay, 30, attacked Neeraj with a knife on an isolated stretch. She suffered two slashes to the neck,” said a police officer, asking not to be named.

“After Neeraj died in front of their eyes, Ajay fled the spot. Later, Singh called police and told them that unidentified assailants attacked and killed his wife,” the officer said.

When police reached the spot, they found that Singh also sustained multiple cuts to his body, including his hands, back, and chest. “The findings of our preliminary investigation and Singh’s statement made us suspicious. So Singh was interrogated thoroughly, and he admitted that he and his younger brother killed his wife,” said Diksha Singh, assistant commissioner of police, Central Noida.

“To mislead the police, they concocted a story about attackers. Singh was planning to kill his wife since the past few days as they had a fallout over dowry. His younger brother, who works at a private company, joined him in the crime,” ACP Singh said.

Investigation revealed that Singh was demanding more dowry from Neeraj. Fed-up with regular fights, the woman left for her native town around four months ago. Later, both families patched matters up, and Neeraj returned to Greater Noida around a month ago.

“On the basis of a complaint given by family members of the woman, a case under sections 80 (dowry death) and 85 (Husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at Bisrakh police station, and the suspects were arrested. Further investigation is underway,” said Shakti Mohan Avasthy, deputy commissioner of police, central Noida.