38-year-old woman found dead in hotel, her lover arrested for murder

NOIDA: A 38-year-old married woman who had checked into a hotel in Sector 63 with her lover was found dead late on Friday evening.
Her lover was arrested on Saturday following a complaint by the woman’s husband, who, police said, was his friend but was unaware of their illicit relationship.
The accused was identified as Sonu (27), a resident of Etawah district. Police said he worked as a daily-wage labourer and stayed in a rented house in Bahlolpur village.
Amit Pratap Singh, the ACP, said the woman was married and had two children – aged 17 and 14 years. Both the woman and Sonu were from the same village and were involved in a relationship for a few years, the police said.
“They had checked into the hotel on Friday afternoon. Around 7pm, Sonu left the room and locked it from outside. The hotel staff sniffed something amiss and opened the door with a master key an hour later. The woman lay dead on the bathroom floor. She had a scarf around the neck,” Singh said.
A team from the Sector 63 police station reached the hotel and sent the body for an autopsy. Sonu was arrested from his house the next day.
“He told us they had a heated argument because Sonu’s marriage was fixed. The woman was unhappy about this. A scuffle broke out between them and Sonu strangled her with a scarf. He then sneaked out of the room,” the ACP said.
The police are waiting for the autopsy report to ascertain the cause of death. “She has a number of injury marks, including some on the face. It seems the accused thrashed her before strangling her with a scarf. He was produced before a court and sent to jail on Saturday. Further investigations into the case are underway,” Singh added.
An FIR was registered against Sonu under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC.