Dinkar Pagare confessed to strangling his 35-year-old wife Archana Trivedi, deputy director of federation of exports in the commerce ministry and daughter of a retired army colonel, late Friday in the plush Sushant Lok area of west Gurgaon. The murder climaxed daily fights between the couple. He then packed her body in a suitcase and dumped it on Friday night on the road outside his apartment.

“It started with an argument, but then she became very agitated. I also became agitated. We then started pushing each other. She was very loud. I tried to shut her mouth but my hand ended up around her neck. Then the rest followed,” Pagare told reporters. The matter came to light after a security guard noticed the unclaimed suitcase and called the police, which opened it to find her body inside. The guard immediately identified her as Archana Trivedi, who lived in flat 499 in B Block. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. “Pagare, during the course of investigation, gave different statements, but on intense questioning he confessed to killing his wife,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Sumit Kumar. The couple had married three years ago but after a year Trivedi filed for divorce in the Tis Hazari court. They continued living together after their parents helped them reach a compromise.

“Pagare said that despite living together, their marital relations never improved and they used to fight often over petty issues,” Kumar said.