40-year-old woman dies; husband, in-laws booked

The police on Sunday booked eight people, including the husband and in-laws of a 40-year-old woman, after she died allegedly in mysterious circumstances and her

The police on Sunday booked eight people, including the husband and in-laws of a 40-year-old woman, after she died allegedly in mysterious circumstances and her last rites were conducted without the knowledge of her family members in old Faridabad. According to the police, relatives of the woman alleged that the suspects would harass her for dowry and murdered her on Sunday.

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The police said that the woman was identified as Sobhana Sharma of New Delhi. She was married in 2004 and had a 15-year-old daughter and 13-year-old son. The husband lives with his family in old Faridabad and is a businessman.

In the police complaint, Sandeep Sharma, the Sobhana’s brother, said, “As soon as she got married, her in-laws and husband began harassing her for dowry daily. They would throw her out of the house. I had tried to sort out the issue several times in the past.” He added that on Sunday, the suspects allegedly conducted Sobhana’s last rites and did not inform him about her demise.

“Another sister of mine informed me about Sobhana’s death. My family and I immediately went to old Faridabad, where Sobhana’s husband told me that she had died of a heart attack and they had already conducted her last rites,” Sharma stated in the FIR. He alleged that the suspects murdered Sobhana and conducted her last rites on the quiet to cover it up.

Sharma said, “On Sunday morning, my sister’s son saw her body on the floor. She was tied up and wrapped in a bedsheet. When the in-laws saw him in the room, they panicked and locked him in another room. None of the neighbours had heard about my sister’s death. I am sure they killed her.”

Adarshdeep Singh, the assistant commissioner of police (ACP), old Faridabad, said, “The autopsy of the body did not take place. Sobhana’s relatives alleged that they were informed about her death after the last rites were done. We are investigating the case. The suspects are yet to be arrested.”

A case was registered under sections 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), 302 (murder), 34 (common intention) and 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at old Faridabad police station on Sunday, the police said.