A man and his wife have been arrested for allegedly killing their 17-year-old niece by hitting on her head with an iron rod and later stuffing her body inside a bed box at their house in northeast Delhi’s Nandnagri area, police said on Monday.
The minor girl was living with Vakeel Podar (51) and his 45-year-old wife for some time now and was pursuing her studies from Delhi, they said.
A decomposed body of the girl found stuffed inside a bed at a house in Leprosy colony complex in Tahirpur area of Nandnagri in northeast Delhi was recovered on October 25, police said.
According to the police, the girl had been missing since October 23. Statement of the girl’s aunt was recorded and it came to notice that the woman’s husband, Podar, was also missing from the house and this rose suspicion, they said.
During initial investigation, the victim’s aunt told police that on October 23, she left for begging at 5.30 am and when she returned at around 12.30 pm, she didn’t find her niece at home. She enquired the same from her husband Podar, who informed her that he had left her niece in the orphanage at Ghaziabad, police said.
During further investigation, it came to notice that Podar was not seen in the locality since October 23, Ved Prakash Surya, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast), said. On making an enquiry at the said orphanage in Ghaziabad, it came to light that no girl of the said name was brought there on October 23, he said.
“During investigation, it was revealed that Podar was attracted towards the victim and the girl had confided the same to one of the neighbours. It also came to light that Podar’s wife was also aware that her husband had tried to molest the victim on September 28,” the DCP said.
On the basis of analysis of call detail record of Podar, one team was sent to Hyderabad and another to his native place in Bihar. He was arrested from a bus stand in Madhepura, Bihar. He was brought to Delhi on transit remand and produced before the court, the officer said.
“During interrogation, Podar confessed that the victim was the daughter of his sister-in-law. He had tried to make physical relationship with her one month ago but she objected. When his wife came to know about the incident, she confronted him and they had a quarrel. Although Podar wanted the girl to stay with them, it was decided that she should be sent to the village, to which the victim refused since she wanted to pursue her studies and complete her education. On this, Podar and his wife had clashed several times,” Surya said.
On October 23, Podar’s wife, out of anger, asked her husband to kill the girl. While she stayed outside the house to keep a watch on passersby, Podar went inside the room and while the girl was asleep, he hit her head with an iron rod kept in the room. When she started bleeding, he wrapped her in a blanket till she died. Then he stuffed her body in the box of the bed and called his wife inside. Both of them then washed the room and the iron rod, the officer said.
They planned to dispose off the body and waited for a whole day looking for an opportunity but failed to do so. Then to mislead everyone, his wife told Podar to leave Delhi and go to the village so that they can come out clean when the body is detected in the house after a few days as the neighbours would think that Podar was outstation and his wife being handicapped will be treated sympathetically and she would cook up a story to cover up, the officer added.
The iron rod used in the commission of crime has been recovered, police said. Both the accused are lepers. While Podar is a rickshaw puller, his wife is a beggar. Both of them also get Rs 5,500 as pension from the government, they said.
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