Jailed gangster in remand for wife’s murder

GURGAON: Jailed gangster Ashok Rathi was on Saturday sent to four-day police remand in connection with the murder of his estranged wife, Sushma Rathi.

GURGAON: Jailed gangster Ashok Rathi was on Saturday sent to four-day police remand in connection with the murder of his estranged wife, Sushma Rathi.

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Sushma, 32, was shot dead by two Santro car-borne assailants in Alipur village on Gurgaon-Sohna road on Friday morning. Her sister, Neetu, named Ashok and his brother Nishu as prime suspects for the murder in her police complaint on Friday.

Ashok Rathi, who has been booked in 28 cases, including murders, is serving life imprisonment at Bhondsi jail. Police investigating the murder sought a warrant from the court to interrogate him with regard to Sushma’s murder.

“We have taken him in remand and will interrogate him in connection with the murder of his wife,” said Sukhbir Singh, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Sohna.

Police sources, however, revealed that Rathi has confessed to having Sushma killed.

Sushma, had separated from Rathi, 37, over a property dispute. The discord between the two started after the couple married in 2004 and Ashok tried to grab Sushma’s ancestral land, police said.

Police have also managed to trace the details of the Hyundai Santro car that was apparently used by the shooters to kill Rathi’s wife. The car (HR51 AA 8725), police said, was stolen from Sector 7 of Faridabad on August 22. A case of car theft was lodged in Faridabad by its owner Tejpal, a resident of Sector 3, Faridabad.

“We are trying to trace the people who stole the car. This will help us trace the shooters,” said a police spokesperson. Sources said teams of police are looking for suspected shooters in Uttar Pradesh, where Rathi had many contacts.

After dating for a year, Sushma and Ashok Rathi had married in 2004, against the wishes of her mother, Anguri Devi, and brother, Dharmender Kumar. The discord started when Rathi began eyeing his in-laws’ property and Sushma objected to it. Her father had left two houses and agricultural lands for the family.