Police in Aligarh district have cracked a shocking case of murder, leading to the arrest of a wife and her younger brother-in-law. The duo stands accused of strangling a 34-year-old loader driver to death, a crime allegedly motivated by an illicit relationship between the two accused.
The Fateful Night in Deendayalpur Village
The incident traces back to the night of August 11 in Deendayalpur village, which falls under the Harduaganj police station jurisdiction. The victim, Sachin Singh, returned to his home after a long day, having consumed alcohol. After eating dinner, he went to sleep, unaware of the fatal plot unfolding around him.
According to the police investigation, his wife, Madhu, and his unmarried younger brother, Dharmendra Pratap, allegedly carried out the murder as he slept. The plan saw Dharmendra strangling Sachin while Madhu held his legs to prevent any struggle or resistance from the intoxicated man.
A Botched Cover-Up and the Crucial Autopsy
In a desperate attempt to mislead investigators, the accused allegedly tried to stage the scene to look like a suicide by hanging. However, their plan went awry when the noose snapped, causing the body to fall and sustain a head injury. Initially, the circumstances surrounding the death remained unclear to the authorities.
The turning point in the case came with the post-mortem report. The medical examination conclusively confirmed that the cause of death was strangulation, not suicide. This critical finding prompted police to launch a renewed and intense investigation into what was now clearly a homicide.
Affair Revealed as Motive, Accused Apprehended
Station Officer Kulveer Singh stated that the probe uncovered a clandestine illicit relationship between Madhu and Dharmendra. It was revealed that Sachin had discovered this affair and was strongly opposed to it, leading to frequent quarrels and disputes within the household.
"Sachin's body was discovered in the verandah. We observed clear scratch marks on his neck and fingers," said SO Singh. He added that while the wife and brother initially resisted a postmortem, Sachin's brother-in-law provided consent for the autopsy, which ultimately exposed the murder.
Following the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) under the stringent BNS section 103(1) for murder, both accused fled the area as police scrutiny intensified. However, the law finally caught up with them. Madhu and Dharmendra were arrested on Friday and subsequently sent to judicial custody, bringing a measure of closure to the gruesome case.
