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Cops foil man's 'perfect' plan
to get rid of spouse

It was to have been a perfect murder. That's how Vijay Singh had planned it.

But his hopes of escaping the long arm of the law went awry when he was arrested Sunday along with an associate who allegedly helped him to kill his wife Rajni.

In the process, he managed to weave a web of lies and deceit that almost fooled the police.

On August 13, police received a late-night call that a woman had been shot dead in the upscale Vasant Vihar area of south Delhi and her jewellery looted by muggers, who also seriously injured her husband.

Police found the bloodied body of Rajni, 26, in a Honda City car and her husband Vijay lying unconscious by her side.

A property dealer, Singh, 30, told police that he was bringing his wife back from her Wazirabad home in north Delhi to their Aya Nagar house in south Delhi at 10 p.m. Near Vasant Vihar, he gave a lift to an unknown man.

But, he claimed, the stranger turned violent. He killed his wife and injured him before escaping with his wife's jewellery.

That's what police thought too initially when an inconsolable Vijay narrated his story. But as the tale poured out, sharp thinking policemen realised there was more to Vijay's story than met the eye.

Police suspicions were confirmed when they nabbed Vinod, an associate of Vijay who confessed after hours of grilling that it was he who had shot Rajni and that he had been paid to kill her by her husband.

Police officers were shocked when Vinod told them that while he shot her first in the forehead, Vijay fired the second and fatal shot at her chest after feeling her pulse and realising that she was still alive.

"The husband's answers were vague and illogical when we asked him why he killed his wife. He simply said coldly that he never liked her," Assistant Commissioner of Police S.K. Tewari told IANS.

Vijay, who is from a rich family, had apparently borrowed his cousin's Honda car to bring his wife back that day.

Vijay and Rajni were married on February 20 this year. Rajni's father had spent Rs. 2.2 million on the marriage and given a Honda Accent as part of the dowry. Vijay's sister had arranged the match and Vijay had not seen Rajni before the wedding.

Rajni had a master's degree and was described by neighbours as a cultured, educated and beautiful girl.

But Vijay could never conceal his hatred for Rajni. And perhaps that's why the couple lived together only for 10 days.

Tiwari said: "He told us that Rajni was not his type and cramped his life-style. Vijay was a womaniser. Though he never found fault with his wife, he could never like her."

Even on the day of the murder, Vijay had allegedly spent time with three different women separately.

Vijay told the police that he could never think of divorcing his wife because his family and relatives would not accept it. So the only way out was to kill her.

Tiwari said investigations showed Vijay tried to murder her earlier too. The first attempt was made shortly after his marriage. While travelling through a deserted area, he had faked a car breakdown with a view to kill her. But his nerves failed.

Again, on April 1, while driving to Manesar in neighbouring Haryana, Vijay parked the car in the middle of the road and got out. A truck hit the car and Rajni received serious injuries but survived.

When Vijay saw that his desperate efforts to get rid of his wife were not paying off, he hired an assassin. He lured Vinod, an old friend, promising him Rs 50,000 if he killed her. He paid him Rs 10,000 as advance.

Police said Vinod confessed to his crime and they are now looking for another suspect with the same name who had given the revolver to Vijay.

Vijay is in jail. But police say he does not seem to be repenting his deed.

Indo-Asian News Service

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