Delhi's deadly love affair: Woman, brother-in-law drug and electrocute husband | Chilling details

Delhi Police arrested a woman and her husband's cousin for the alleged murder of her husband, who died of electrocution at home in Dwarka.

In a chilling twist to what initially appeared to be a tragic accident, the Delhi Police has arrested a woman and her husband's cousin for the alleged murder of her husband, a 36-year-old man who died of electrocution at his home in Dwarka last week.

The incident came to light on July 13, when Karan Dev was brought unresponsive to Mata Rooprani Maggo Hospital in Uttam Nagar. (Photo for representational purpose)

The incident came to light on July 13, when Karan Dev was brought unresponsive to Mata Rooprani Maggo Hospital in Uttam Nagar. The hospital flagged the case to the police, citing electrocution as the cause of death.

Key points on Delhi murder:

• At first, Karan Dev's family suspected nothing. They even requested to skip the post-mortem. But suspicions began to brew after his younger brother, Kunal, found disturbing chats between Karan’s wife Sushmita Dev, 35, and her alleged lover Rahul Dev, 24 — a man who also happens to be Karan’s cousin (his uncle’s son).
• Senior police officials said the duo allegedly gave Karan sleeping pills before killing him using a live electric wire at his residence.
• After the murder, the woman reportedly ran to her in-laws’ house, claiming Karan had collapsed. Karan was rushed to the hospital, but it was too late.
• The post-mortem — conducted at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital — confirmed electrocution, but it didn’t sit right with Kunal. Once he approached police on July 16 and shared the couple’s incriminating conversations, the investigation took a darker turn.
• Both the woman and her alleged partner are currently in custody and being interrogated. A case of murder under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita has been registered.
• Police say more details will emerge as the investigation progresses, the report said.
  

The breakthrough

“Hence, a preliminary enquiry was conducted and on the basis of enquiry and the material available during inquest proceedings, a case on charges of murder was registered,” deputy commissioner of police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh said.

“Sushmita was updating Rahul in real time on the night of July 12— on what she was feeding Karan, whether he had fallen asleep, and at what point she was struggling to execute the plan. At one point, she called Rahul over to help her,” said an officer familiar with the investigation.

Based on the chats, police said their investigation led them to believe that Sushmita spiked Karan’s food with sleeping pills.

“It appears that the wife first gave him the pills in his food. She then cut the heavy wire attached to the extension cord from a point and when he was in deep sleep, she and Rahul touched his finger to the live wire after switching it on,” the officer said.

“Touching a high-voltage extension cord like that could lead to fatal electrocution,” the officer said.

Once they were sure Karan was dead, Sushmita pretended he wasn’t waking up and told the family that he had died from touching a live wire.

Police said that Sushmita and Karan had been married for several years and had a six-year-old son. The couple had fallen in love before marriage. However, about a year ago, Sushmita began an affair with Rahul, who lived in the same building.

(With inputs from Hemani Bhandari)