A 48-year-old businessman was arrested on Friday, four days after he allegedly murdered his estranged wife by strangling her at her home in northeast Delhi’s Jafarabad and told his family members and neighbours that she died because of a prolonged illness, the police said. Police said the man, identified as Anees Qureshi, killed his wife, Asma, because he suspected her of having an “extra-marital affair”.

Qureshi and his family members were allegedly preparing to bury her body when a neighbour noticed strangulation marks around the woman’s neck and informed the police, who then took the body into custody. The body was sent to Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital for an autopsy. Since the police were not sure how the woman died, they waited for the autopsy report and initiated inquest proceedings under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

“We received the autopsy report on Thursday, which revealed Asma died of strangulation. We took her husband and in-laws into custody and questioned them. The husband confessed to the crime and revealed that he suspected that his wife was cheating on him and murdered her in a fit of rage,” Atul Kumar Thakur, deputy commissioner of police (northeast), said.

The police said the couple had a love marriage around 20 years ago, against the wishes of their families, and have two children. The couple had been living separately for the last five years. While the woman, Asma, lived with her children in a flat in Jafarabad, Qureshi was living with his second wife, three children of the second marriage, and other family members at his parental home in Chauhan Bangar, near Jafarabad.

During the interrogation, Thakur said, Qureshi told the police that even though he was living separately, he often visited Asma’s flat to meet her and their children. The couple often had arguments because Qureshi suspected her of having an affair, Thakur said.

On April 1, Asma was alone in her flat when, around 2pm, Qureshi arrived and found Asma speaking on the phone.

“When he asked who she was talking to, Asma rebuked him, saying it was none of his business. Her reaction enraged Qureshi and he strangled her during a scuffle,” an investigator said, requesting anonymity.

Qureshi panicked when he realised that Asma had died. He informed his family members about her death, but did not tell them that he murdered her. He also alerted neighbours about it and told them that he had come to meet Asma after she told him of severe stomach pain. Qureshi told the neighbours that Asma was suffering from some serious ailment for the past couple of years.

“Qureshi claimed that Asma died of excessive pain, before he could take her to any nearby hospital. A neighbour noticed ligature marks around her neck, and informed the police,” the officer added.

First Published: Apr 07, 2019 04:18 IST