Man arrested from Chennai for murdering live-in partner

Four days after a woman’s partially decomposed body was recovered from a house in Sector 5, the police arrested her live-in-partner from Chennai on Friday. He was

Four days after a woman’s partially decomposed body was recovered from a house in Sector 5, the police arrested her live-in-partner from Chennai on Friday. He was taken on police remand after being produced before the district court, said the police.

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According to the police, they had received a call on November 10 about a woman’s decomposed body lying in a house in Ashok Vihar in Sector 5.

The police said the woman was identified as Nancy (35). Her live-in partner was found to be missing and, despite repeated attempts, he could not be contacted.

Preet Pal Sangwan, assistant commissioner of police (crime), said the house from where the body was recovered belonged to an officer of Haryana Police, who had given it on rent. “The first floor of the house was rented out to a couple who used to run a street food stall in the area. They had introduced themselves as husband and wife. It was found during investigation that they were not married and had met four years ago through a common friend,” he said.

On the morning of November 10, the house owner visited the building and found that the main gate was locked. He called the tenants on the phone but neither of them answered. After waiting for half an hour, he jumped across the gate and informed the police when he noticed foul smell emanating from the building.

Sukhpal Singh, the owner, said that he informed the police control room and the Sector 5 police station regarding the foul smell and waited for them to arrive.

Sangwan said a team of officials reached the building, broke open the door and found a woman lying dead on a bed. “Forensic experts, dog squad, and finger print experts were called on to the spot. A crime team also visited the spot and started investigation,” he said.

The body was sent for post-mortem investigation and the autopsy revealed that she had been strangulated to death, said the police.

The police said they suspected the live-in-partner as he was the only one who was missing and had switched off his mobile phone possibly to evade arrest.

Sangwan said, based on technical surveillance, the police traced the location of the accused in Chennai and a team was sent to nab him. “After killing his partner, he went to New Delhi railway station and boarded a train for Chennai. His friends lived there. He too used to work there earlier. As such, he contacted them and asked them for possible job opportunities,” he said.

The police said the suspect was identified as Bharat Thapa of Nepal, who lived in Gurugram for the last two years and had set up a stall with the deceased in Sector 5 area. They used to sell momos.

During the investigation, it was revealed that the couple often landed in a tiff and were often spotted abusing and fighting with each other. On the day of the incident, they had an argument over some issues and the accused strangulated her to death. Fearing arrest, he locked the gate from outside and went to Delhi to board a train to Chennai, said the police.