Gurugram man who stabbed wife 40 times ‘had purchased two knives’ for murder: Cops

An autopsy had confirmed that Vanshika Sharma was stabbed over 40 times with a knife, sustaining wounds on her torso, neck and chest.

A day after a 28-year-old man was arrested for allegedly bludgeoning and stabbing his 23-year-old wife to death in her sleep in Ashok Vihar, the police on Monday said the suspect had purchased two knives for the alleged crime. According to the police, he went back to the blacksmith after his co-worker told him that the small kitchen knife that he had purchased would not suffice.

The accused, Pankaj Bhardwaj, and his co-worker, Naseem Ahmed, in police custody. (HT Photo)

An autopsy had confirmed that Vanshika Sharma was stabbed over 40 times with a knife, sustaining wounds on her torso, neck and chest.

The police said the accused, Pankaj Bhardwaj, and his co-worker, Naseem Ahmed, 39, allegedly planned to murder the woman for over two months .

Sumit Kumar, station house officer (SHO), said the premeditated murder took place on Saturday between 3.30pm and 4pm when the woman was asleep.

“She was knocked unconscious with a car wrench and then her husband allegedly stabbed her repeatedly through a quilt till she died. Naseem was involved in planning and was not at the house at the time of the incident,” SHO Kumar said.

The police said Naseem had told Pankaj to purchase a larger knife for the alleged murder.

“After the crime, Pankaj went from his house to another property his family owns in Ashok Vihar and was arrested from there on Sunday evening. His aide was arrested from Laxman Vihar. The weapons are yet to be recovered,” SHO Kumar added.

The police said the accused men were produced in the city court on Monday and sent to two days police remand.

On Sunday, Pankaj told the police that he loathed his wife because she insulted him, passed derogatory remarks and taunted him after being goaded by his in-laws to do so.

SHO Kumar said Pankaj told investigators that his wife would tell people that he used to defecate in the open and did not flush after using the washroom.

“He said that for the past two months, he was ‘intent’ on killing her and was waiting for the right opportunity to go ahead with the plan,” he said.

The couple had tied the knot in April 2017. Vanshika’s father alleged that the couple fought frequently.