Fed up by blackmail over property dispute, woman kills husband in connivance with mother

Baghpat (UP), Oct 14 (PTI) A man was allegedly drugged and strangulated to death by his wife and mother-in-law here over a property dispute, leading to the arrest of the two accused on Tuesday, police said.

The body of Sonu (35) was found in Jivana Guliyan village on Sunday morning, following which his brother filed a police complaint.

A case was registered against seven people based on the complaint, and an investigation was initiated, Binouli police station in-charge Rakesh Kumar Sharma said.

Probe revealed that Sonu had a long-standing property dispute with his mother-in-law. During interrogation, Sonu's wife Sonia and her mother Saroj confessed to killing him, the official said.

According to police, Sonia disclosed that her mother, who lived with her, had bought a plot for Rs 3 lakh some time ago, which is now valued at nearly Rs 30 lakh.

Sonu had been pressuring his mother-in-law to transfer the property into his name, police said, adding that Sonia claimed Sonu had secretly filmed her mother bathing and used the video to threaten that he would make it public if the plot was not transferred to him.

Troubled by the threats, the mother and daughter planned his murder, and on Saturday evening, they allegedly mixed sleeping pills in milk and gave it to Sonu.

When he fell into deep sleep, they strangled him with a rope and tried to pass it off as suicide by hanging the body, breaking his mobile phone and hiding it in a straw-filled room, police said.

They later performed his last rites.

Sharma said both accused women were produced in court on Tuesday and were sent to judicial custody. PTI CORR ABN ABN NSD NSD