Woman, lover held for husband’s murder that was passed off as accident in UP

LUCKNOW: Rae Bareli police on Friday arrested a woman and alleged lover for allegedly murdering her husband and dumping his body near a roadside in Dalmau area to make the crime appear like an accident, officials said.

The accused were identified as Renu and Azeem. Police said they were arrested while trying to flee the village after the killing of 35-year-old Ramdev Sharma, who ran a small furniture shop.

Ramdev, a resident of Kapurpur village under Nasirabad police station limits, married Renu, a resident of Tiwari Ka Purwa village in Rampur Barara, about 15 years ago. The couple had two sons. Police said Ramdev had been staying at his in-laws’ house in Tiwari Ka Purwa for the past four months.

His body was found near a roadside brick-paved pathway on Wednesday morning. At first, the death appeared to be the result of an accident or some unidentified incident. However, injury marks on the neck raised suspicion. A postmortem examination later confirmed that Ramdev died of strangulation.

After the body was recovered, Ramdev’s brother, Ramjas Sharma, filed an FIR against Renu and Azeem, accusing them of murder.

During the investigation, police alleged that Renu and Azeem were in a relationship for nearly four years. Ramdev reportedly came to know about the affair and opposed it, prompting the two to allegedly plan his murder.

According to Dalmau Kotwali SHO Raghav Kumar Singh, Ramdev was allegedly taken to a nearby field on the pretext of going for defecation, where Azeem was already waiting. Police said the two strangled him with an angoccha and later dumped the body near the roadside.

Police said the cloth used in the crime has been recovered. Investigators also found that Azeem rented a room in the city for Rs 2,000 a month, allegedly to meet Renu secretly.