'Mixed poison in tea': How Bareilly woman staged husband's killing as suicide with lover's help

The accused duo, who were sent to jail on Friday, allegedly orchestrated Singh's murder and tried to pass it off as a suicide

Published on: Apr 19, 2025, 12:16:02 IST

By HT News Desk | Reported by Deepak Lavania

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The Uttar Pradesh police on Friday revealed how a 25-year-old woman in Bareilly, Rekha, tried to stage the killing of her husband Kehr Pal Singh with her lover Pintu as part of the duo's plan to live together.

Police performed the postmortem on Singh's body after his brother Kumar raised suspicions on circumstances surrounding his brother's death. (@ShoneeKapoor/X)

The incident was reported to police by the accused's neighbours after they discovered Singh's body around 5pm on Friday. Police registered a case following a complaint by the victim’s elder brother, Ashok Kumar, who suspected foul play.

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A case of murder has been registered against Rekha and Pintu at the Fatehganj Pashchimi police station. The accused duo, who were sent to jail on Friday, allegedly orchestrated Singh's murder and tried to pass it off as a suicide.

Police performed the postmortem on Singh's body after his brother Kumar raised suspicions on circumstances surrounding his brother's death. Kumar also revealed that his brother was aware of Rekha's affair with Pintu and had frequent arguments with her.

Kumar also revealed that his brother was married to Rekha for 16 years and had four children. He alleged that Rekha, employed as a cook at a medical college, had an affair with Pintu. The accused hatched a deadly conspiracy after their affair was discovered by Singh, he added.

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‘Mixed poison in tea before strangling husband’

Police said that Rekha confessed to mixing rat poison in her husband's tea before calling Pintu, a resident of Bijnor, to strangle her husband to death. The duo proceeded with their plan to mislead investigators. Pintu fled the scene after helping the woman to hang Singh's body. Rekha locked the door from inside and began screaming to alert her neighbours to pretend that she was shocked after discovering Singh's ‘suicide’.

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Additional superintendent of police (ASP), north, Mukesh Chandra Mishra said the postmortem revealed death by strangulation even though the room being locked from inside suggested that the deceased could have died by suicide. “Doctors have preserved the viscera for forensic testing to confirm poisoning,” he added.

During questioning, Rekha evaded giving direct answers but confessed to poisoning her husband. However, she denied strangling him or hanging the body, claiming her husband might have locked the room and taken his own life, police said.

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