NOIDA/GHAZIABAD: The husband of the pregnant woman whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase off NH-24 in Indirapuram was released by police on Thursday after hours of sustained questioning apparently failed to provide any leads into the alleged murder.
Mala’s husband Shivam had been detained on the basis of a complaint lodged by her father, who accused him of killing her with his friends for not bringing enough dowry. Police said the manager of the Greenways showroom at DLF Mall where Shivam worked as a salesman had confirmed he was on duty when Mala was reported missing on April 7.
Shivam had lodged a missing person’s complaint at Bisrakh police station.
Mala’s family members have pointed out to police that Shivam’s friends who used to frequent the couple’s house were all missing ever since the body was found on Tuesday evening. A nephew of Mala has alleged that Shivam had been married and had a kid with another woman before tying the knot with her.
Anit Kumar, circle officer of Greater Noida III, said some neighbours of the couple had told police they had seen Mala riding pillion on the bike of a man on April 7, when she was reported missing.
“It seems someone else had visited the house and took her away. We could not get any concrete leads after questioning Shivam. We are probing the case from all angles,” he said.
An autopsy report has revealed that Mala had been strangled to death before her body was packed into a suitcase, fit enough to carry 12 pairs of jeans.
“The woman was around five months pregnant at the time of her death. It is clear from the report that she was strangled to death,” Indirapuram circle officer DSP Dharmendra Chauhan said.
Mala’s family members cremated her body after it was handed over to them on Wednesday.
Her relatives pointed out that Shivam’s friends in the Greater Noida neighbourhood were all untraceable since the body was found.
“Shivam’s friends used to spend most of their time at the couple’s rented house. They are all missing now. We have pointed this out to police,” said Saurabh, Mala’s nephew.
The nephew said he had chanced upon an old picture in Shivam’s Facebook profile in which a person resembling him can be seen holding a child in his arms and a woman sitting beside him. “The picture is all the more reason for us to suspect he was probably married and had a kid even before trying the knot with Mala. In the picture, Shivam is seen hugging an infant in his arms with another woman beside him. A framed photo can be seen hanging from the wall that the couple seem to have clicked during their marriage,” Saurabh said.
Bisrakh police had registered a case under the dowry act against Shivam, his parents and two brothers after Mala’s father Ram Avtar accused them of killing his daughter. They had been charged under Sections 498A (cruelty), 304B (dowry death), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), 316 (causing death of unborn child) of the IPC and Sections 3&4 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.
The cops released Shivam after the Greenways showroom manager where he had been working for the past five years confirmed he was on duty when Mala was reported missing.
“He was in office the day his wife was reported missing. He was punctual and never a troublemaker,” said Vikram Singh, the store manager.
Representative image 
