Loni murders: Man arrested for killing his wife and friend

He also told us that he obtained the illegal weapon and four live cartridges from Ansari about 15 days ago for celebratory fire at several upcoming marriages, the ACP said

Ghaziabad: A 38-year-old suspect, who allegedly murdered his wife and his friend in Loni on Tuesday, was arrested following an exchange of fire with police on Wednesday night, officials said on Thursday.

The deceased woman was the mother of seven children who were present in the house while she and Ansari were murdered. The children told police that Rashid suspected their mother and Ansari would kill him, said officials. (Representational image)

Police arrested Mohammad Rashid from Garhi Kataiya, Loni, over the murder of his wife Shabnam (single name), 36, andhis friend Faheem Ansari, 32. During interrogation, the suspect revealed that he had procured a country-made weapon from the deceased friend and used the same to kill both victims, the officials added.

The murders occurred around 12:30 am on Tuesday in a room at Rashid’s house in Ram Park Colony, Loni.

According to the police, Rashid, after being arrested, was taken to the spot where he had hidden a country-made gun.

“When police took him to the spot in the jungles of Harampur, he used the same weapon to fire at the police, and sustained a gunshot to his leg in police’s retaliatory fire,” Siddharth Gautam, assistant commissioner of police (ACP) of the Loni circle, told HT on Thursday.

“During interrogation, he confessed that he shot dead his wife, and his friend Ansari following an argument. He also told us that he obtained the illegal weapon and four live cartridges from Ansari about 15 days ago for celebratory fire at several upcoming marriages,” the ACP said, adding that he also confessed to firing a single shot into each of the victims’ heads.

“Ansari and Shabnam had allegedly told Rashid they would stay together, and the woman wanted to sell the house and get a divorce from him to stay with Ansari. After killing both, Rashid fled and was roaming around before he was arrested based on information,” the ACP added.

Police said Rashid told them to have shot both victims, but the autopsy report stated that Shabnam died of a lacerated wound in her head that seemed inflicted with a blunt object.

“We will refer the matter of autopsy findings to the chief medical officer to get further views about Shabnam’s death,” the ACP added.

The deceased woman was the mother of seven children who were present in the house while she and Ansari were murdered. The children told police that Rashid suspected their mother and Ansari would kill him, said officials.

“After Rashid learned this from his children about 20 days ago, he planned to kill Shabnam and Ansari. He waited for the holy month of Ramzan to end and obtained the weapon and cartridges from Faheem,” the ACP said.

Rashid has been booked for murder and will also face the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita section for attempted murder and the Arms Act for firing at the police, officials added.