Woman’s body recovered from Ghaziabad home, husband flees with minor daughter

Police said the couple had a love marriage and moved to the house four months ago. They celebrated their daughter’s birthday on Tuesday

The Ghaziabad police on Thursday morning recovered the decomposed body of a woman from her third-floor rented house in Khoda’s Adarsh Nagar and said the circumstances prime facie indicate that she was murdered. Her husband and their daughter, aged four years, are missing, they said.

Police outside the woman’s house in Khoda in Ghaziabad on Thursday. The police said the landlord complained to them about a foul smell emanating from the room. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

The police said the landlord complained to them about a foul smell emanating from the room. They arrived at the home and found the door was latched from outside. Police opened it and entered to discover the body.

Police identified woman was identified as Rukmini, aged about 25 years, while her husband was identified as Jeetu Jha, 29, a native of Araria in Bihar.

“The police recovered the body from the room and sent it for an autopsy. The landlord told us that he last saw the woman’s husband on Wednesday morning. Her husband and their minor daughter are yet to be traced. His mobile phone is switched off,” said a police officer attached to the investigation, asking not to be named.

Police said the couple had a love marriage and moved to the house about four months ago. They celebrated their daughter’s birthday on Tuesday after which the woman went missing.

“Rukmini’s sister told us that the couple used to have fights and Jha used to physically assault her. On Tuesday, the couple celebrated their daughter’s birthday and invited about 30-40 guests. It is suspected that they had a fight later that night and it ended in her death. The woman’s sister, who lives in Badarpur, Delhi, told us that Rukmini had come to her house a week ago after a fight with her husband. She told her sister that Jha used to beat her and was pressuring her to bring money from her parents,” said the officer quoted above.

Police said the scene of crime suggests that the woman was strangled during a fight going by the marks on her body.

“The circumstances point to a case of murder. We found blood near the body and the autopsy will tell us the exact cause of death. It is suspected that the couple had a fight on the night of their daughter’s birthday. We have informed the relatives of the deceased and will soon register a case,” said Shubham Patel, deputy commissioner of police (trans-Hindon).

The Khoda police on Thursday evening said that woman’s sister will submit a police complaint, based on which a case will be registered against Jha.