Man strangles wife, slashes own wrist before surrendering

A police team rushed to his house, where they found his wife lying dead on her bed. (Representational Image)

A 32-year-old man allegedly strangled his wife in front of their three children following a heated argument. The man then slashed his own wrist, before surrendering to Karawal Nagar police in northeast Delhi.

The incident took place on Friday night, and an initial investigation has revealed that he killed her over suspicion that she was having an affair.
Confirming the incident, DCP (northeast) A K Singla said they have arrested the accused, Hira Lal, for allegedly killing his wife. “Few months ago, they applied for separation, but things got sorted during their counselling session. Around four months ago, she again started staying with him,” he said.

Police said the incident came to light late Friday night when the accused appeared before the duty officer (DO) at Karawal Nagar police station and informed him that he has killed his wife. “Police started questioning him, but suddenly he collapsed. Police then realised that he allegedly slashed his wrist. He was taken to nearby hospital, where his condition was stated to be stable. Police then recorded his statement,” the officer said.

After getting to know his address, a police team rushed to his house, where they found his wife lying dead on her bed. Police also found their three children – Akash (9), Dipanshu (3) and a three-month-old child sitting near their mother’s body. “The body was taken to a nearby hospital and has been preserved in a mortuary for postmortem. The woman had strangulation marks on her neck and some bruises on the face that suggests that she was thrashed before she was killed. An FIR was registered and the accused was arrested,” an officer said.

The couple’s neighbours told police that they often fought over the same issue. While Hira Lal suspected her of having an affair, she always denied being involved. Few weeks ago, she had even confided in a neighbour about Hira Lal thrashing her, police said. During questioning, the accused told the police that he suspected that his wife was having an affair, which often led to arguments between them. “On Friday evening, the couple had a fight again after he came back from his work and found that she had not cooked any food. He started hitting his wife and later allegedly strangled her and left her body on the bed. He then slashed his wrist and went to police station,” the officer said.