Couple held for killing, burying man’s body

A husband-wife duo has been arrested on Sunday for murdering a man and burying his body in their house on January 26 here in Loni.

Police said victim Liley Singh (40) worked in a security agency in Ghaziabad and on the fateful day he had gone to his friend Mange Ram's house in Bhup Khedi area of Loni.

Singh went missing on January 26 and after a missing person's complaint was lodged the police began investigating and it eventually led them to Mange Ram.

Police said the victim had misbehaved with Ram's wife Laxmi Devi (24) that afternoon and that was the immediate trigger.

"He came to my house asking for some drinks. We then consumed liquor and at one point he held my wife's hand and tried to pull her saree," Ram, who is in police custody, said."I was furious and told my wife to go to the other room. After 15 minutes, I slashed his throat with a knife and landed several blows on his head with the handle of a hand pump, which left him dead," he added.

He told the police that he then dug up a pit in his own house and buried Singh's body at night. He also put huge quantity of salt on the body to control the stink.

"I dug up a grave around 1.5 feet deep and bundled the body inside. I added salt to allow the body to decompose and get rid off the smell. Later, I covered the grave with bricks," Ram said.

Superintendent of Police AK Vijeta said, "The accused was arrested for murder and destruction of evidence and his wife was arrested for a criminal conspiracy as she knew the incident and did not inform the police."

The police also recovered the murder weapons used in the crime.