Woman, lover among four arrested for husband’s murder in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar
Jaipur (PTI): A 23-year-old woman allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband, just three months after their marriage, in collusion with her long-time boyfriend and two accomplices in Rajasthan's Sri Ganganagar, police said on Thursday.
The accused wife, Anjali (23), her lover Sanjay (25), and his friends Rohit (20) and Siddharth (20) were arrested on Tuesday, Sri Ganganagar SP Amrita Duhan said.
The incident occurred on the night of January 30 in the district when Ashish Kumar (27), a resident of 1 KLM village under the Rawla police station area, went for a walk with his wife after dinner.
He was allegedly attacked with sticks on a deserted stretch of road near the village, and later strangled with a muffler when he did not succumb immediately, the SP said.
What initially appeared to be a case of robbery and murder was later found to be a pre-planned murder conspired by the woman, Duhan said.
Anjali had been in a relationship with Sanjay for the past 6-7 years and was unhappy with her arranged marriage to Ashish on October 30 last year, the police said, adding that her family was aware of the affair.
Both Anjali and Sanjay were graduates and had studied at the same college in Sri Ganganagar, where their relationship developed. After marriage, Anjali allegedly wanted to pursue an MA in Sri Ganganagar to continue meeting Sanjay, but her husband opposed it, leading to resentment, the police said.
She conveyed this to Sanjay. Investigations revealed that 16 days before the murder, Anjali visited her parental home in Sadulshahar, where she and Sanjay allegedly finalised the plan to eliminate Ashish.
Ashish had joined as a private school teacher just three days before his death.
"On the fateful night, after dinner, Anjali took Ashish for a walk. She alerted Sanjay, who arrived with his accomplices and hid in nearby bushes. When she signalled, the trio assaulted Ashish with sticks, rendering him unconscious, and then strangled him," Circle Officer Prashant Kaushik said.
"To present the crime as robbery, Anjali handed over Ashish's mobile phone and her earrings to the accused," the police said, adding that she pretended to be unconscious near the spot.
"On receiving information around 9 pm about the incident, the police rushed them to Rawla CHC, where doctors declared Ashish dead," he said.
Suspicion arose during questioning and detailed investigation, including analysis of call details and the post-mortem report, exposed the conspiracy, the police said.
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Kerala polls: Vijayan, Revanth Reddy trade barbs as campaigning ends
Kannur (Kerala)/Hyderabad (PTI): A war of words between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy turned acrimonious on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the April 9 Assembly polls.
The two leaders sparred on the virtual world as well, exchanging letters on their respective social media handles.
The escalation came after Vijayan, responding to Reddy's earlier remarks, used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory, signalling strong disapproval of the Telangana CM's comments.
Reddy, campaigning for the UDF in Kollam district, hit back swiftly, likening Vijayan to PM Narendra Modi.
He said he would take any personal remarks from the senior leader as a "blessing" considering his age, but objected to what he described as insults directed at the people of Kerala. "But you cannot abuse our Kerala people," he said, hours before campaigning drew to a close.
The controversy began after Reddy had said "nee po mone Vijaya" by invoking a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in Nemom constituency.
Earlier in the day, while reacting to Reddy's earlier remarks, Vijayan said a CM must maintain basic standards of conduct and questioned whether such dignity was being followed.
In his response to a query, Vijayan used Malayalam words that were seen as nearly derogatory for Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Sharply reacting to the CM's objectionable remarks, Congress leader V D Satheesan said Vijayan appeared to have "completely lost composure" and warned that any further deterioration in his conduct would have brought "greater embarrassment" to the state.
After the critical remarks during the press meet, Vijayan wrote on his 'X' handle that political differences are natural, but expressing strong disagreement through personally insulting remarks is an attitude that he rejects. Reddy's statements lacked factual backing.
In a detailed letter attached with the 'X' post addressing the Telangana CM, Vijayan said the experience of the people of Kerala was "vastly different" from what Reddy had portrayed.
He clarified that he did not intend to engage in a debate over the performance of the Telangana government, stating that it was for the people of Telangana and political parties there to assess their government.
Referring to Reddy's comments, Vijayan said the LDF government has been consistently publishing progress reports over the past 10 years on the implementation of its election promises, underlining its commitment to continuous accountability.
He also rejected the allegation of "selective appropriation" of Kerala's achievements, including its top ranking in the NITI Aayog SDG Index, and said such criticism was misplaced.
Dismissing claims of industrial stagnation, Vijayan said Kerala has made significant strides in the startup ecosystem and ease of doing business, adding that these achievements have been widely acknowledged.
He also alleged that key infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam Port, faced delays under previous Congress-led governments at the Centre, while long-pending promises such as a railway coach factory remained unfulfilled.
Vijayan further accused the BJP-led Union government of discrimination against Kerala and said the state has been actively resisting what he described as "anti-federal and undemocratic" policies through legal and political means, including approaching the Supreme Court.
He also rejected Reddy's criticism that the LDF was not vocal enough against the BJP, asserting that Kerala has been at the forefront of defending constitutional values.
Concluding his letter, Vijayan reiterated the state government's commitment to building a "Nava Keralam" and moving forward as a model for others.
On April 1, while addressing party workers in Nemom, Reddy used the popular Malayalam film dialogue "Nee po mone Vijaya". He adapted it to target Vijayan, saying "Nee po mone Vijaya".
Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
Responding to these allegations, Vijayan had said that the Telangana CM was "misinformed" and accused him of "ridiculing" Kerala and its people while trying to hide the weaknesses of his own state.
In a later response, Reddy defended his remarks and said that many of the statistics cited by Vijayan were taken from the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023 24, arguing that the data was already outdated.
Reddy in his letter questioned the veteran Marxist leader's claim that Kerala would become the first state to completely eradicate extreme poverty by late 2025 had been achieved. Further, he chooses to conduct himself respectfully and gracefully in his criticism of the Kerala government's performance, whereas Vijayan opted to use language of poor taste.
Reddy, in his letter on X, said that while he respects NITI Aayog's corruption rankings, he wants to know why the infamous gold smuggling case, linked to individuals connected to the CMO, remains unresolved, and why 4.5 kg of gold allegedly misappropriated from the Sabarimala Ayyappa Temple has not been accounted for.
