KANPUR: A 28-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her husband, who later dumped her body in a drain about 500 metres from their home in Kanpur and placed stones on it to prevent it from floating, police said.
The body was discovered on Saturday morning after passersby noticed what appeared to be a head in the drain and alerted police by calling 112. Officers from the Panki Police Station reached the spot, retrieved the body and sent it to the mortuary as it could not be immediately identified.
Late Saturday night, the victim’s brother identified the deceased as Aakriti Singh alias Ruby, a resident of Saraimeeta in the Panki area. She had married her husband, Nitin, in a temple five years ago in what was described as a love marriage.
Police subsequently arrested the husband and two of his brothers for questioning. During interrogation, the husband allegedly confessed to strangling Aakriti. Investigators also found that CCTV footage from the house had been deleted.
The couple had two children — a three-year-old son, Utkarsh, and a six-month-old daughter, Manavi. Nitin was employed at a wrapper manufacturing company in Dada Nagar, while Aakriti’s brother Rahul works in a private firm.
Rahul alleged that his sister had faced repeated harassment and physical assault from her in-laws since the marriage. Complaints were reportedly lodged several times at the local police station, but each time the matter was settled through mediation.
According to Rahul, disputes frequently arose over jewellery gifted to Aakriti by her mother. He claimed that she would wear the ornaments during family functions and then return them to her maternal home for safekeeping, which angered her husband and led to repeated quarrels.
On February 26, Nitin allegedly assaulted Aakriti again, following which she filed a complaint at a local police outpost. Police called both parties and mediated a compromise. However, Rahul claimed that after returning home, Nitin beat her again, strangled her, wrapped the body in a blanket and dumped it in the drain. Stones were placed on top of the body in an apparent attempt to conceal it.
When news of the unidentified body circulated on social media, family members contacted police and were shown photographs, after which Rahul confirmed the identity of his sister.
On Sunday, police sent the body for post-mortem examination. After completion of formalities, the body will be handed over to Aakriti’s maternal family for last rites.
Police said further investigation is underway.
