UP horror: Husband arrested for wife’s murder 3 months after love marriage

NOIDA: A 25-year-old man was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife within three months of their love marriage and attempting to burn her body to wipe out evidence in Dadri last week.The body of Monika Nagar (22) was found half-burnt on an isolated plot in Dadri on May 7. According to police, her husband Anuj Chauhan, his parents and a neighbour took her body in a car and set it on fire after hiding it in a pile of cow dung.Monika’s family alleged she was being beaten by her in-laws and pressured to transfer property worth crores in their name.Police said Anuj, a resident of Ghodi Baccheda village, was arrested during a special operation with the help of electronic surveillance. The SUV allegedly used to transport Monika’s body was also seized.Monika and Anuj had a court marriage on Feb 17 after being in a relationship for some time. Both families were aware of the match, police said. But Monika’s family later alleged that she was being assaulted by her husband and in-laws over a piece of land said to be worth around Rs 3 crore in her name.Her mother, Renu Nagar, said Monika called around 2.50pm on the day of the murder on May 7, saying she was being assaulted. Her brother also told police that Monika had called twice that day in distress and said she was being forced to transfer her share of family property. When relatives reached Anuj’s house in the evening, they allegedly saw Monika’s body being loaded into a black Fortuner.Following a complaint by the family, a case was registered under BNS sections 103 (murder), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 109 (attempt to murder) against seven accused, including Anuj, his parents, younger brother, uncle, aunt and neighbour Karan Rawal alias Kannu (22), who was arrested earlier.During questioning, police said, Anuj admitted he had argued with Monika after she said she wanted to visit her parental home. He claimed he was later told by family members that she had hanged herself in her room and that she was declared dead at a hospital. He allegedly said villagers then advised him to burn the body.The autopsy could not fix the cause of death because the body had been burnt. However, viscera samples were preserved for forensic examination.