A 33-year-old man was allegedly strangled to death by his wife in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly, with her parents and brother holding him down, police said. Investigators believe the family later tried to pass off the killing as a suicide by hanging the body from a window grill.
The case came to light after a postmortem examination ruled out suicide and confirmed strangulation as the cause of death, prompting police to arrest the woman and her parents. The incident has sent shockwaves through the locality, raising troubling questions about domestic disputes that spiral into violence.
Body Found Hanging, Suicide Claim Unravels
According to Circle Officer Pankaj Srivastava, the body of Jitendra Kumar Yadav, a native of Bhaupora in Etawah district, was found hanging at his rented home in the Izzat Nagar police station area on January 26. Yadav, who worked as a contract employee at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), lived in Girja Shankar Colony, Kailashpuram, with his wife Jyoti.
At first glance, the death appeared to be a case of suicide. However, suspicion grew after Yadav’s brother, Ajay Kumar, lodged a complaint. Acting on it, police registered a case against Jyoti and three others for abetment to suicide and ordered a postmortem.
“The postmortem report confirmed that the cause of death was strangulation,” Srivastava told PTI. With that finding, the case took a decisive turn, and the accused were booked for murder.
Interrogation Reveals Alleged Motive
Police arrested Jyoti, her father Kalicharan and her mother Chameli, residents of the Durga Nagar area, on Saturday. Jyoti’s brother, Deepak, is also named as an accused and remains absconding, with teams working to trace him.
During questioning, Jyoti allegedly told investigators that she and Yadav had known each other since their student days and married last year, just months ago, with the consent of both families after a nine-year relationship, NDTV reported. Both were employed on a contractual basis, Yadav at IVRI and Jyoti as a bus conductor with the Uttar Pradesh Road Transport Corporation.
According to police, the couple’s relationship had soured due to frequent arguments over money. During one such dispute, Jyoti reportedly called her parents, who arrived at the house along with her brother.
Investigators said Jyoti confessed that a heated scuffle followed, during which her parents and brother restrained Yadav by holding his hands and legs, while she strangled him in a fit of rage.
Once he stopped responding, the family allegedly tied a muffler around his neck and hung the body from a window grill to make it appear as though he had taken his own life. They then raised an alarm, police said, in an attempt to mislead neighbours.
A detailed investigation into the killing and the events leading up to it is ongoing.