A 45-year-old nurse working at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital was found murdered on Saturday night with the top half of her body stuck in a bucket of water kept in the bathroom of her staff quarter. No arrests were made till Sunday evening.
The police suspect that the murder had taken place two to three days before the brother of the victim Nirmala Devi found her body and informed the police. Nirmala was locked in a court battle with her husband for the custody of her son after the two had separated. She stayed alone at staff quarter number 108 in LNJP colony.
Nirmala spent the weekends with her maternal family in Baruna village in Haryana. However, this Saturday when she did not reach, her family members tried to contact her. But when they found her phone switched off, her family suspected that something was amiss and her brother Anand Kumar left for the Capital.
“I reached her quarter around 9-30 p.m. but found the door latched from outside. I entered and called out her name. Getting no response, I entered her bedroom and found the door to her washroom open. I could only see her feet. A closer look revealed that her head was immersed in a bucket in which she did her laundry. Another bucket filled with water was put over her to ensure that the body remained lowered in water,” said Mr. Kumar.
According to the police, there was no sign of a forced entry which meant that the suspects were known to the woman.
Family members also claimed that some cash and jewellery was found missing from Niramala’s residence due to which the police have not ruled out robbery as a possible motive behind the murder.
Nirmala’s neighbours in the LNJP colony, who did not spot anyone entering her house in, said that she rarely had any visitors. Her absence from office in the past few days also did not make her colleagues suspicious as she had intimated her seniors that she would be on leave from September 17.
Investigations revealed that Nirmala had married one Mehru Lal in 1999 and separated from him a few years later. Her family alleged that Mehru along with his brother and sister-in-law thrashed Nirmala when she refused to pay them a sum of money as dowry.
The couple has a 13-year-old son. Mr. Kumar said that Nirmala’s in-laws’ demanded money from her as she had a job at the hospital. She then moved to Narela in Delhi and bought a flat. Her in-laws followed her and took her son.
“She was also beaten up in 2005 after which her husband and the sister-in-law were sent to jail for a month. The child stayed with the father and my sister wanted back his custody,” said Nanhi Devi, Nirmala’s younger sister.
“We have registered a case but it seems there are various angles all of which have to be probed. We are questioning all those who were in touch with Nirmala during her last days,” said the officer.