Woman, Friend Arrested for Murdering Builder Husband in Sangam Vihar
Police have arrested a 45-year-old woman and her 20-year-old male friend for allegedly murdering her husband at their home on Ratiya Marg in Sangam Vihar early Monday morning. According to the police, the woman planned the murder of her husband, a builder, after suffering years of physical abuse, humiliation, and domestic disputes.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Anant Mittal identified the victim as Munna Lal and the arrested accused as his wife, Manju alias Nazia, and her friend Chaman, a mechanic. Manju and Lal had been married for 22 years and lived in Sangam Vihar with their three children, including two daughters aged 19 and 21 and a minor son.
Police initially received a call around 5 a.m. on Monday reporting that a man had been injured during a burglary. Officers who reached the spot found Lal critically injured and took him to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Manju initially claimed to police that she and her three children were sleeping in another room while Lal was in the front room, stating she woke up to find the house ransacked and her husband injured. However, investigators questioned the story after noticing that blood traces appeared to have been cleaned and household items were disturbed to make the incident look like a break-in.
CCTV footage from the locality revealed suspicious movement of a woman and another person near the home. The footage showed a masked man entering the house around 1:45 a.m. and exiting around 3:15 a.m. The woman in the footage was identified as Manju.
During interrogation, Manju disclosed the conspiracy, revealing she had met Chaman a few months ago at a mechanic shop where he worked. Police said she offered him ₹5 lakh to help kill Lal and paid him ₹20,000 at the time of the crime.
According to DCP Mittal, Manju first administered sleeping pills to incapacitate her husband. Once he was unconscious, she and Chaman strangulated him, electrocuted him, and assaulted him with a stick. Police stated that the exact manner of electrocution is yet to be established.
Police have also bound down Chaman's associate, 28-year-old Kishan of Sangam Vihar, for harbouring Chaman after dropping him in another neighbourhood despite noticing blood on his shirt. Officers recovered ₹15,000 in cash during the probe. A case under sections 103(1) for murder, 238(a) for destruction of evidence, and 3(5) for common intention under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita was registered at the Sangam Vihar police station.
