A 29-year-old television (TV) actor from Punjab was strangled and her body burnt by her husband and his friend in Uttarakhand’s Nainital over suspicions that she had an extra-marital affair, a senior Uttarakhand police officer said on Wednesday.
TV actor Anita Singh’s charred body was found in Kaladhungi area of Nainital - about 30 km from the district headquarters, Nainital district police chief Sunil Kumar Meena said.
Meena said her husband Ravinder Pal Singh and his friend Kuldeep had been arrested in this case.
Ravinder Pal Singh and Anita had travelled to Nainital on January 30, covering a distance of nearly 600 km from Ferozepur in Punjab where they lived. Ravinder had told his wife that his friend Kuldeep would put her on his contacts who could help get her get acting assignments in Mumbai.
“The two then met Kuldeep at a local eatery, where he offered her tea laced with sedatives,” said Meena.
“When she lost her senses, the two strangled her with a rope and burnt her body before fleeing from the spot at around 1.30 in the night. After the murder, Kuldeep went home (a short distance away in Kaladhungi) while Ravinder went to Delhi,” said Meena.
It turned out that Ravinder Pal Singh had long suspected that his wife had an affair with a man from Kashmir. When Anita Singh told him that she wanted to move to Mumbai to work in movies, he conspired to murder her, the police alleged.
{{/usCountry}}It turned out that Ravinder Pal Singh had long suspected that his wife had an affair with a man from Kashmir. When Anita Singh told him that she wanted to move to Mumbai to work in movies, he conspired to murder her, the police alleged.
{{/usCountry}}Meena said Ravinder Singh had planned the murder with Kuldeep and took her to Nainital, claiming that Kuldeep knew someone in Mumbai who could help her get work.
When Nainital police found a charred body, it started scanning footage from CCTV cameras along the route to the spot where Anita Singh was found. Meena’s team located the owner of the car, Ramanjeet Singh. “He told us that on January 30, the car was borrowed by his brother-in-law and one of the accused, Kuldeep,” Meena said.
Meena said Kuldeep was the first one to be arrested on Tuesday. Ravinder Singh was arrested from Haridwar on Wednesday.