A 40-year-old woman was strangled, allegedly by her live-in partner, who then stashed her body inside a kitchen cabinet at their residence in Northwest Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar.
The body was discovered after neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the house on Sunday. According to the police, the victim, identified as Anita, was living in with Shiv Nandan, a labourer, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, and her 19-year-old son.
Shiv was detained for questioning after the recovery of the body. He was arrested when he allegedly admitted to having killed her on Monday. He told the police that they had met a decade ago and fallen in love when she was behind bars at Tihar Jail.
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“He claims they had an argument over who was supposed to cook dinner on Friday during which things got out of hand and ended up in attacking and killing her,” said a senior police officer.
Shiv allegedly told the police that he strangled Anita, wrapped her body in a bed-sheet, and forced it inside the kitchen cabinet before fleeing. On Sunday, the couple’s neighbours called the Police Control Room around nine p.m. complaining of a foul smell emanating from the house.
A police team was despatched to the spot, which, during a cursory examination, found Anita’s body. Enquiries with neighbours revealed that Anita’s husband, Devender, had died about 10 years ago, and she was jailed in connection with the death.
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“They had two sons. One was staying with Anita and Shiv while the other is with Anita’s in-laws. Shiv says he met Anita at Tihar while visiting his sister,” said the officer. The police have informed Anita’s relatives in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district about her murder.