Police on Tuesday claimed to have solved the case involving the murder of a 45-year-old woman of Ludhiana’s Vijay Nagar locality with the arrest of her businessman husband Rakesh Kumar Gaba.
Radhika Gaba was killed for objecting to her husband’s extramarital affairs, police said. Forty eight-year old Rakesh concocted a highway robbery story after firing point blank at his wife near Khanna town on the night of July 29 when the couple were travelling.
The police have recovered his father’s licensed revolver that was used in the crime and sent it for forensic examination.
Khanna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gursharandeep Singh Grewal said a special investigation team (SIT) comprising SP (investigation) Jagwinder Singh Cheema, deputy superintendent of police (investigation) Rajan Parminder Singh, formed to probe the matter, solved the case.
The SSP said Rakesh, a financier and distributer of smartphones, took Radhika to Rupnagar for shopping and had dinner at a dhaba on their return. He made her consume beer on the way following which she fell asleep.
He stopped his Renault Duster near Mohanpur village near Khanna and shot at her from outside the vehicle at 10.50pm and took her to Satguru Partap Singh (SPS) Hospital, Sherpur Chowk, in Ludhiana, the official said.
{{/usCountry}}He stopped his Renault Duster near Mohanpur village near Khanna and shot at her from outside the vehicle at 10.50pm and took her to Satguru Partap Singh (SPS) Hospital, Sherpur Chowk, in Ludhiana, the official said.
{{/usCountry}}He informed the police nearly an hour after shooting his wife.
He told the police when they stopped the car to answer the nature’s call, four motorcycle-borne persons came and looted Rs 30,000, a gold chain and a bracelet from them at gunpoint.
When his wife resisted to one of the robbers snatching her earrings, one of them fired on her, he had said in the FIR.
Khanna Sadar station house officer (SHO) Baljinder Singh said Rakesh was not cooperating with the police and he was changing his statement frequently that made them suspicious about his role.
During investigation, they found that he had multiple affairs and Radhika was aware of the same.
The accused confessed that he planned to kill her after she started quarrelling with him over the issue, the SHO said.
The police have ruled out the involvement of Rakesh’s father Madan Lal Gaba and brother in the murder.
‘Had gone to UP to murder lover’s fiancé’
SSP Gursharandeep Singh Grewal claimed that on July 26 Rakesh had gone to Uttar Pradesh’s Muzaffarnagar with an intention to kill the fiancé of his lover, a divorcee, but returned empty-handed as he did not meet the man.
Shanky, a resident of Muzaffarnagar, had entered into a heated argument with Rakesh and his father over phone after he came to know that the 48-year-old had an affair with his fiancée, said the SSP. Rakesh told the woman that he is also a divorcee and had promised to marry her, he added.