Woman murdered inside Madipur containment zone, police arrest husband

A 35-year-old man was arrested by Delhi Police on Saturday morning from outside a containment zone in west Delhi’s Madipur, near Punjabi Bagh, for allegedly murdering

A 35-year-old man was arrested by Delhi Police on Saturday morning from outside a containment zone in west Delhi’s Madipur, near Punjabi Bagh, for allegedly murdering his wife.

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The murder, the first such incident reported from inside a Covid-19 containment zone in the city, was reported around 3.56am when the suspect called up the police control room and confessed to the killing. The city has around 90 containment zones, such as Nizamuddin, Chandni Mahal, Nabi Karim, which have come up to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Police officers privy to the investigation said that because this was the first case of murder within a containment zone , they had to look at standard operating procedures for such cases and act accordingly.

“There were many firsts in this case. Usually our officers immediately visit the crime scene, but in this case, we called the suspect (husband) and asked him to come outside the containment zone. We waited for him to step out. He was then arrested and sent into isolation,” a police officer said.

Police said that it took them about eight hours to clear the crime scene — the road that lead to the house was first sanitised and investigating officers then waited for delivery of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits before carrying out a detailed inspection of the room. A forensics team was called to the spot. Senior officers said even though the woman hadn’t died of Covid-19, her body was wrapped in multiple body layers. The hearse van used to take the body from the house was also sanitised twice.

The police said that the suspect — identified as Rahisul Azam — called the control room around 3.56 am and reported that he had attacked his wife following a heated argument at their house. The woman had supposedly died on the spot.

“A police team from Punjabi Bagh police station rushed to the address given by the man, arrived at the scene =, but found that the house was inside a containment zone. In order to adhere to guidelines, the sub divisional magistrate, district magistrate and civic agencies concerned were also informed of the case. The Delhi Jal Board was roped in to sanitise the area,” said a senior police officer.

The policemen then called up Azam and asked him to walk out of the containment zone and surrender. Before he was arrested, his body temperature was checked and the suspect was asked if he had symptoms of the disease.

“Azam has so far told us that he sells footwear in Jahangirpuri and had got married three years ago. It was the second marriage for both Azam and his wife. While Azam had three children from his first marriage, the woman had six. He said they often fought over the future of their children and during one such argument on Saturday, things turned ugly. He hit the woman with a stuck on her head and she fell unconscious. He said when he checked on her, she was already dead,” the police officer said.

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Deepak Purohit said the disaster management teams and Covid helplines were also alerted. “Azam has been arrested as per guidelines issued in view of Covid-19. All preventive and precautionary steps are being taken while investigating the above case so as to adhere to the containment zone guidelines and at the same time to conduct an efficient investigation,” Purohit said.

Until late Saturday evening, the investigating officers said they were checking with health and district authorities about proceedings related to the autopsy and the disposal of the body. Police said they are checking if the body could be handed back to the family, because the woman was not Covid-19 positive but was a resident of a containment zone.