FARIDABAD: Police here have arrested a 54-year-old man who confessed to killing his daughter-in-law and burying her body in front of his house two months ago, an officer said on Saturday.
Bhoop Singh, a resident of Roshan Nagar, confessed to strangling his daughter-in-law Tannu Kumar and throwing her body in a pit he dug for the purpose in front of his house, the officer said.
The motive behind the murder is yet to be revealed, even though the accused said he killed the woman because she caused a rift in the household.
According to Bhoop Singh's testimony, as cited by police, the murder happened on the night of April 21, when the woman's husband, Arun Kumar, was away at work, and Bhoop Singh's wife at a wedding in Uttar Pradesh, leaving only Bhoop Singh, his daughter Kajal, and Tannu in the house.
"His daughter had gone to sleep in her room on the ground floor after having dinner and Tannu had also gone to sleep on the first floor. In the night, the accused went to Tannu's room and strangled her with her dupatta. He then dumped the body in a pit in front of the house and covered it with soil. In the morning, he called a mason and got the pit cemented," a spokesperson of Faridabad police said.
Bhoop Singh was produced in a city court today and was taken into police custody for two days.
"We are verifying the roles of other family members. The motive appears to be dowry-related, but further probe is underway," Sarai Assistant Commissioner of Police Rajesh Kumar said.
Tannu Kumar, a native of Shikohabad in Firozabad district in Uttar Pradesh, had married Arun Singh of Roshan Nagar area here two years ago.
Her body was exhumed Friday morning before Naib Tehsildar Jaswant Singh.
Her father, Hakim, alleged that police refused to listen to his complaint even after he raised suspicion about the freshly covered pit, which he witnessed when he visited his brother-in-law's house.
Hakim alleged that his daughter was harassed by her in-laws over dowry, to the extent, she had to stay at her paternal home for a year after marriage. She returned to Faridabad after the intervention of a panchayat, but the matter was far from being resolved.
Earlier, her in-laws reported Tannu as missing and also told police she was mentally challenged.
Hakim said that after he was informed about her daughter going missing, he visited Bhoop Singh's house with his other daughter, Preeti, and knew something was amiss when he saw the freshly turned soil outside the home.
Police had earlier booked Bhoop Singh, originally from UP's Mainpuri, his wife Sonia, son Arun Singh, and daughter Kajal.
Tannu's body was handed over to her kin after a post-mortem at Badshah Khan Civil Hospital on Friday.