Noida: Ex-IIS officer kills lawyer wife over property

A 61-year-old lawyer suffering from cancer was found dead inside her house in Noida in a posh locality, with the police Monday arresting her former Indian Information Service (IIS) officer husband and charged him with the murder.

Nitin Nath Sinha, 62, had strangled his wife Renu Sinha after a fight on Sunday morning allegedly due to a dispute between them over selling their house -- currently valued at around Rs 4.5 crore, according to the police.

After the murder, Sinha hid himself in a small store room on the upper-floor of the two-storey house for more than 10 hours and his wife's body lay in a bathroom on the ground floor.

The main gate of their property was locked with a chain from inside while police and the woman's brother kept searching for Sinha outside, officials said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Noida) Harish Chander said Ajay, the brother of Renu Sinha, had approached the local police, saying her phone went unanswered for two days and his brother-in-law was also missing.

"A police team went to the house in Sector 30 and broke open the chain of the main gate and further the door of the house in the presence of the woman lawyer's brother. Her body was found in the bathroom attached to her room," Chander said.

"Her brother raised a strong suspicion at Sinha's role behind the killing, saying the couple frequently had fights. After this an FIR was lodged on the basis of a written complaint from him and investigation launched," he said.

The DCP, flanked by his deputy Shakti Avasthy and area ACP Rajneesh Verma, told reporters that forensic experts, dog squad were called immediately in for probe at the spot, under Sector 20 police station limits, and the body then sent for post-mortem.

He said inquiry from neighbours and the woman's brother gave an idea that Nitin Sinha was in Delhi's Lodhi Garden area in the afternoon. When approached on mobile phone, he told them that he would return in the evening.

"However, after some time, around 3.30 pm his phone went off. Thereafter with help of manual intelligence and surveillance, including analysis of CCTV footage from nearby areas, it appeared that Sinha did not leave the building," Chander said.

The search was once again focused inside the house and this time the upper floor intensively checked. The upper floor was earlier used by Sinha's mother who passed away during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and has been unused ever since, he said.

"There were multiple rooms on the upper floor, most of them locked. They were broken open and ultimately Sinha was found hiding inside a store room which was attached to a room. He was found there around 1 am on Monday," the officer told reporters.

When taken into custody and questioned, Sinha confessed to having strangulated his ailing wife after a heated dispute on Sunday morning, the police officer claimed.

Sinha, who took voluntary retirement from the IIS in 1998, revealed that while his wife's body lay in the bathroom on the ground floor, a property broker visited him on Sunday noon.

"Sinha took the broker to the first floor of the house and showed him around. He told the broker that both the floors of the house are constructed in a similar fashion and that is why he did not take him to the ground floor but the upper floor," Chander said.

He wanted to sell this house he inherited from his parents but his wife was against him -- the main reason for their frequent fights.

His wife suffered from cancer and their son lives and works in the US, according to the police.

Sinha, the police said, had already taken an advance of Rs 55 lakh from the broker for selling the property.

Their domestic worker -- who arrived daily for work at 8 am -- did not come on Sunday.

She first called up Renu Sinha to inform that she would be taking an off and later called Nitin Sinha but both times the calls went unanswered, the police said, confirming this as a 'coincidence'.

The police said Sinha told them upon arrest that he was scared after his wife's death and did not know how to respond to the situation because of which he went and hid himself in the store room.

"He told police that he had planned to speak to his lawyer in the morning and then take the next step accordingly but got caught before that," an official said.

Renu Sinha's brother had raised suspicion that Sinha is a "well-connected" man and could flee the country as well. On the basis of this information, a Look Out Circular was issued against him and police teams also monitored the routes leading to Delhi airport and highways for Nepal border, the official added.

An FIR has been lodged against Sinha at the Sector 20 police station under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and he was produced in a local court Monday evening.