Police said the crime was discovered on April 17 when the body of Satanu Mohammad’s wife, Shehnaz, was found inside a box bed at the couple’s home. (Representational Image)

Despite the lockdown, a man who allegedly beat his wife to death last week managed to make his way to Kanpur by taking lifts from commuters, truck drivers and even booking a taxi from a private cab aggregator.

Police said the crime was discovered on April 17 when the body of Satanu Mohammad’s wife, Shehnaz, was found inside a box bed at the couple’s home. They lived at a PG accommodation in Rajiv Nagar, where Mohammad worked as a cook. He had married Shehnaz in January after breaking off his marriage with his first wife.

“He later found out that Shehnaz was already married and in touch with her first husband. The two fought over this repeatedly, including on April 17. That’s when Mohammad hit his wife on the head with a bat,” said Gurgaon Police PRO Subhash Boken.

“When the bat broke, he picked up another and hit her two-three times. After she fell unconscious, he tied her up, gagged her, and dumped her in the box bed,” he said.

Police said Mohammad decided to head to village in West Bengal. At Rajiv Nagar, police said he asked a man on a motorcycle for a lift till DLF. “He then booked a cab till Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi as cab aggregators are only offering transport for essential services. From there, he hitched a ride and reached the house of people from his village who live in Noida,” said the PRO.

“Apart from money, he borrowed a cycle from them and got till Bulandshahr. There, a truck driver offered him a lift. At Kanpur, he got out to drink water but the driver left him there,” said Boken, adding that he was arrested there.