HAZARIBAG: A 24-year-old housewife has been arrested for allegedly killing her mother-in-law and dumping the body in an abandoned well at a village in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district, a police officer said on Friday.
The accused Nitu Kumari along with her lover Rakesh Kumar Mehta had allegedly strangulated Sangita Devi (45) and dumped the body in a well in Champadih village as the victim had been opposing their illicit relationship, said the Officer-in-Charge of Padma police station, Vikram Kumar.
The body of Sangita Devi, who went missing for the last three days, was recovered on Thursday following the arrest of Nitu Kumari, the police officer said.
Since the disappearance of Sangita Devi, the police officer said Nitu Kumari and Mehta were absconding.
The neighbours and the relatives of the deceased had suspected some foul play in the sudden disappearance of Sangita Devi.
The villagers had even apprehended that she (deceased) might have been killed and held Nitu Kumari and her lover responsible.
Kumar said the police conducted raids and arrested the daughter-in-law of the deceased on Thursday after tracking the location of the mobile phone of the accused.
During interrogation, Nitu Kumari broke down and confessed before the police that she along with her lover had killed Sangita Devi and then threw the body in an abandoned well, the police officer said.
Based on the information provided by Nitu Kumari, police recovered the decomposed body of the deceased from the well as well as her broken bangles, clothes, and other belongings from the spot.
Mehta was still absconding and police raids were on to arrest him, the police officer said.
Meanwhile, the body of Sangita Devi was brought to Hazaribag Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem examination and Nitu Kumari was forwarded to judicial custody on Friday.