UP: Doctor held for killing wife, cremating body 400km away

BAREILLY: A 34-year-old doctor who had gone “missing” on November 26 from Lakhimpur Kheri was allegedly “murdered” by her husband, also a doctor. Police said the accused, Abhishek Awasthi (36), a doctor of ayurvedic medicine, was detained on Monday for questioning and was arrested on Tuesday after he admitted that he committed the crime.
Abhishek filed a “missing complaint” after killing his wife, Vandana Awasthi, and quietly cremated the body nearly 400km away on the banks of the Ganga in Garh Mukteshwar, said police.
During questioning, he confessed that he struck his wife with a heavy object during a quarrel and she died of head injuries on November 26. Circle officer (Lakhimpur Sadar) Sandeep Singh said, “We received a complaint on November 27 from Abhishek that his wife had gone missing. He told police that she had left her home with some valuables. Once we learnt more about the couple’s marital issues, we put Abhishek on our watch list. During investigation, we found that Abhishek and his father had cremated Vandana’s body in Garh Mukteshwar. They had informed an ambulance driver that the woman died in an accident and took her body in the vehicle for quick cremation.”