Woman, son held for killing husband, chopping body into 10 parts in Delhi's Pandav Nagar
New Delhi(PTI): In a chilling recall of the Shraddha Walkar murder case, a woman and her son allegedly killed her husband, chopped his body into 10 pieces, and kept them in a fridge before dumping them across east Delhi, police said on Monday.
Anjan Das (45) was killed on May 30 by his wife Poonam (48) and stepson Deepak (25) who were arrested from east Delhi's Pandav Nagar. Some of his body parts were found stuffed inside a bag at the Ramlila Ground in east Delhi's Kalyanpuri on June 5, police said.
Over the next few days, his legs, thighs, skull and a forearm were recovered following which a case was registered under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence and giving false information) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Pandav Nagar Police Station.
The victim has a wife and eight sons in Bihar, but he hid this fact from Poonam, police said, adding that a team will be sent there to collect DNA samples of Das' kin to match the body parts.
The mother-son duo had killed Das over suspicion that he was eyeing his stepdaughter and stepson's wife. They had disposed of the body parts at different places in east Delhi over a period of three to four days and buried the skull, they said.
The accused told police that they mixed sleeping pills in Das' drink and after he fell unconscious, used a knife and a dagger to kill him. They then slit his throat and waited for the blood to drain out completely before chopping it into pieces.
Following the recovery of body parts in June, police analysed CCTV footage of the area and conducted door-to-door verification. The body was later identified as that of Das which led police to Poonam and Deepak.
Police became suspicious of the two after realising that they had not lodged a missing persons complaint for Das and when questioned, there were discrepancies in their statements. Subsequently, they confessed to the killing, police said.
According to police, Poonam was married off when she was around 14-years-old to one Sukhdev Tiwari who later deserted her and came to Delhi.
She too landed in the capital in search of her husband and met one Kallu with whom she entered into a live-in relationship, police said.
She then met Das and developed a liking for him. In 2016, Kallu passed away due to liver failure and she married Das the following year in 2017, police said.
When she got married to Das, she was not aware that he had a family in Bihar. Das, who worked as a lift operator, had in the past sold off Poonam's jewellery and sent the money to his family in Bihar, they added.
The duo had begun plotting the murder around March-April, police said, adding that the fridge used for storing Das' body parts has been seized.
The case bears eerily similarities with the murder of 26-year-old Walkar in the national capital.
Walkar was allegedly killed after a confrontation with her 28-year-old live-in partner Aaftab Poonawala who then sawed her body into 35 pieces and kept them in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks at his residence in south Delhi's Mehrauli before dumping them across the city.
The Delhi Police arrested Poonawala on November 12.
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89 killed as storm, rain batter UP; relief work underway
Lucknow (PTI): At least 89 people were killed after a strong storm and heavy rain pounded several districts of Uttar Pradesh, uprooting trees and electric poles and damaging houses, according to the Relief Commissioner's office.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took cognisance of the loss of lives and damage caused by the unseasonal rain, thunderstorms and lightning on Wednesday and directed officials to ensure relief reaches the affected families within 24 hours.
In a post on X on Thursday, the Relief Commissioner's office said, "Due to bad weather on May 13, including storms, rain, hailstorm and lightning, reports of 89 deaths, 53 injured persons, 114 livestock losses and damage to 87 houses have been received in the state, which has been taken cognisance of by the Hon'ble Chief Minister."
It said the chief minister has directed all divisional commissioners and district magistrates to verify the incidents "with full sensitivity" and ensure financial assistance is distributed to affected families within 24 hours while establishing direct communication with them and extending other necessary help.
The Relief Commissioner's office said it is continuously monitoring the situation through direct coordination with district officials and necessary funds are being made available to districts.
According to a list issued by the Prayagraj district administration, seven deaths were reported in the Handia area, four in Phulpur, three in Soraon, two in Meja and one in Sadar due to the storm and rain.
In Bhadohi, district administration sources said at least 16 people died in storm-related incidents.
Additional District Magistrate Kunwar Virendra Kumar Maurya said trees and electric poles were uprooted in several areas while many houses were damaged in the storm.
Fatehpur Additional District Magistrate Avinash Tripathi said nine people were killed and 16 injured in storm-related incidents in the district.
"Eight people, including five women, died in Khaga tehsil, while a woman died after a wall of a house collapsed in Sadar tehsil," he said.
In Pratapgarh, four people died in separate incidents of wall and cemented shed collapses and lightning strikes amid strong winds and rain, officials said.
Superintendent of Police Deepak Bhukar said Bhim Yadav (25) died after he was trapped under the debris of a cemented shed that collapsed in Ojha Ka Purwa village in the Lalganj Kotwali area.
He said Bhushan Pandey (56) died after a wall collapsed in Sari Swami village under the Baghrai police station area.
Bhukar said Shanti Devi (46) of Narangpur village and Lal Bahadur (44) of Chhatrapur Shivala Raghna village also died in storm-related incidents.
In Kanpur Dehat district, two persons died in rain-related incidents, the officials said.
Police sources said a 19-year-old woman, Ruchi, died after being struck by lightning in Bhauthari village under the Rasulabad area while standing under a neem tree with goats during heavy rain. Several goats also died in the incident.
A 60-year-old man standing nearby was injured, they added.
Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Dushyant Kumar said reports regarding human and livestock losses have been sought from local officials and financial assistance will be provided as per government rules.
In Deoria, Komal Yadav (62), a resident of Bhimpur Gaura village, died after being struck by lightning, district administration sources said. Two others were injured in the incident.
In another incident, Ramnath Prasad (65), a resident of Neruari village, died in a lightning strike.
In Sonbhadra district, Madhav Singh (38) died after being trapped under a tree uprooted during the rain and the storm.
Adityanath directed the district magistrates and officials of various departments to visit the affected areas and provide all possible assistance to the victims and their families.
He also instructed the officials to remain alert and ordered the revenue and agriculture departments, along with insurance companies, to conduct a survey of the damage and submit a report to the government.
