A man has been arrested in Kolkata for the alleged dowry-related murder of his wife in Delhi, highlighting the ongoing issue of domestic violence and dowry deaths in India.
A 39-year-old man, accused of strangling dead his newly-wed wife over an alleged dowry-related dispute and hiding her body in the box storage compartment of a bed at a rented accommodation here, has been arrested from Kolkata, police said on Thursday.
The accused Mohammad Ejaz, originally from Bihar's Vaishali district, was arrested from the Kolkata's Karaya area on May 13 after he allegedly fled to West Bengal following the murder, they said.
The decomposed body of the 28-year-old woman, a resident of Haldwani in Uttarakhand, was recovered from a rented accommodation in central Delhi's Nabi Karim area on the night of May 8.
A PCR call was received from the landlord, who reported a foul smell emanating from a tenant's room and said the occupants had not been seen for several days, police said.
"A police team reached the spot and found the decomposed body of a woman inside a bed box in the room," an officer said.
During the investigation, the police found that the woman had married Ejaz on April 26 and the couple had recently started living in the rented accommodation.
An FIR was registered in this connection and a team was tasked to trace the accused, police said.
The officer said the woman's father levelled allegations of dowry harassment against Ejaz and his younger brother Sarfaraz before the tehsildar.
Based on the allegations, Sarfaraz (29), also a resident of Vaishali, was arrested on May 10 in connection with the case.
Investigators also learned that Ejaz had absconded after the incident and was constantly changing location to evade arrest.
"Through sustained surveillance and analysis, the accused was traced to Kolkata. A police team deputed to West Bengal continued tracking his movements and finally apprehended him from the Karaya area of Kolkata on May 13," the officer said.
During interrogation, Ejaz allegedly confessed to killing his wife following quarrels over dowry and money-related disputes. He said on the intervening night of May 6 and 7, an heated argument broke out between the two, during which he strangled her with his hands, resulting in her death.
Subsequently, he kept the body inside the storage compartment of a bed, locked the room from the outside and fled to Kolkata.
The accused further disclosed that he had sold the deceased's mobile phone for Rs 2,500 to arrange money for his escape, police said.
The phone has been recovered at his instance, and further investigation is underway, they added.