Attack faked, Rohini woman killed by restauranteur husband: Delhi Police

“Pankaj’s interrogation has revealed that it was all his own work. He shot dead his wife and tried to blame the money lender for it,” police said

Police arrested a businessman on Thursday for allegedly shooting dead his wife at point-blank range, a day after he claimed that the 34-year-old woman was killed by hired assailants of a financier whom he owed lakhs of rupees.

Rohini resident Priya in an undated picture with her husband Pankaj Mehra. (Source: Delhi Police)

Police said they cracked the case after evaluating forensic evidence and scanning CCTV footage from the crime spot in outer Delhi’s Rohini where Pankaj Mehra had claimed his wife, Priya, was killed by 3-4 unidentified men who waylaid his car early on Wednesday.

He had claimed that he and his two-year-old son escaped as the assailant’s pistol jammed after the first two shots.

Police alleged that Mehra, also 34, had two motives for killing Priya.

“He wanted to get rid of his wife so he could live with another woman, whom he had reportedly married. He also thought he could implicate a private money lender for the murder and avoid repaying a Rs 40 lakh loan,” said Milind Dumbere, DCP (north-west).

“He thought killing the boy would arouse police’s suspicion,” the investigator added.

Police said CCTV footage from the crime spot nailed Mehra, who had claimed that the killers had intercepted his car with a white hatchback.

Mehra allegedly confessed after police told him that the CCTV footage showed no car stopping near his vehicle at the spot where he claimed the murder took place.

“Moreover, the trajectory of the bullet inside Priya’s body and black marks at the exit point of the wounds revealed that the two fatal shots were fired from a very close range and not by someone standing outside the car and firing indiscriminately,” said Rajesh Khurana, joint commissioner of police (northern range), adding that a shell was also found under the front seat.

Police are, however, yet to recover the murder weapon.

Speaking to Hindustan Times, Priya’s mother alleged that Pankaj had married another woman around two years ago and even had a child from her.

“When Priya would question Pankaj about that relationship, he would beat her. Priya lived with us, away from him, for nearly 10 months because of his abusive behaviour,” alleged Manju Meghani.