JOIN USBody found stashed in kitchen cabinet
A 40-year-old woman was strangled by her live-in partner and the body was stashed inside a kitchen cabinet at their house in north-west Delhi’s Adarsh Nagar.
The body was discovered after neighbours complained of foul smell emanating from the house on Sunday, police said.
Police said Anita lived with Shiv Nandan, a labourer who hails from Uttar Pradesh, and her 19-year-old son.
After an initial probe, police arrested Shiv on Monday. He has confessed to killing Anita.
“Shiv claimed that they had an argument over who was supposed to cook dinner on Friday. During the argument, Shiv attacked Anita,” said a police officer.
Shiv strangled Anita, wrapped the body in a bedsheet and kept the it in the kitchen cabinet.
Anita’s son Varun was not at home as he had gone to visit his grandparents for the weekend in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur district.
On Sunday, a call was made to the police control room at 9 pm about foul smell emanating from the house.
A team of local police broke open the main door of the house and recovered the body.
Anita’s husband Devender had died about 10 years ago and she was jailed in connection with the death.
They had two sons. One stayed with Anita and Shiv, while the other was living with Anita’s in-laws.
Shiv told police that he met Anita for the first time in Tihar Jail, where he used to go to meet his sister.
“Anita and Shiv soon became close friends. Anita also moved-in with Shiv after being released from jail,” the officer added.
They had taken the house in Adarsh Nagar’s Majlis Park on a monthly rent of Rs 6,000.
Shiv was absconding on Sunday, and was arrested on the basis of technical surveillance on Monday.
On being questioned, their neighbours claimed that the couple used to indulge in heated arguments which required intervention of the landlord and neighbours.
Shiv had also physically assaulted Anita in the past. Anita’s body was handed over to family after a post-mortem at Babu Jagjivan Ram Memorial Hospital on Monday.