A shocking murder conspiracy has come to light in Rajasthan's Sriganganagar district, which holds an eerie similarity to the murder of Raja Raguvanshi by his newly-wed wife Sonam in Meghalaya in May last year. A 23-year-old woman allegedly orchestrated the murder of her husband just 3 months after their marriage, in collusion with her long-time boyfriend and 2 accomplices in the district, police said on Thursday.
The accused wife, Anjali (23), her lover Sanjay (25), and his friends Rohit (20) and Siddharth (20) were arrested on Tuesday, Sri Ganganagar Superintendent of Police Amrita Duhan said.
A sinister murder plot made to look like an accident
The incident took place on the night of January 30 when Ashish Kumar (27), a resident of 1 KLM village under the Rawla police station area, went for a walk with his wife after dinner. He was allegedly attacked with sticks on a deserted stretch of road near the village and later strangled with a muffler when he did not die immediately, police said.
What initially appeared to be a case of robbery and murder was later found to be a pre-planned killing orchestrated by Anjali, Duhan said.
Wife's past affair and resentment against 3-month-old marriage
Police said Anjali had been in a relationship with Sanjay for the past 6 to 7 years and was unhappy with her arranged marriage to Ashish on October 30 last year. Her family was aware of the relationship. Both Anjali and Sanjay were graduates who had studied at the same college in Sri Ganganagar.
After marriage, Anjali allegedly wanted to pursue an MA in Sri Ganganagar to continue meeting Sanjay, but her husband opposed the idea, leading to resentment. She later conveyed this to Sanjay, police said.
Execution of the crime
Investigations revealed that 16 days before the murder, Anjali visited her parental home in Sadulshahar, where she and Sanjay allegedly finalised the plan to eliminate Ashish. Ashish had joined a private school as a teacher just 3 days before his death.
“On the fateful night, after dinner, Anjali took Ashish for a walk. She alerted Sanjay, who arrived with his accomplices and hid in nearby bushes. When she signalled, the trio assaulted Ashish with sticks, rendering him unconscious, and then strangled him,” Circle Officer Prashant Kaushik said.
“To present the crime as a robbery, Anjali handed over Ashish’s mobile phone and her earrings to the accused,” police said, adding that she pretended to be unconscious near the spot.
Police received information around 9 pm and rushed the couple to Rawla Community Health Centre, where doctors declared Ashish dead. Suspicion arose during questioning, and a detailed investigation, including analysis of call detail records and the post-mortem report, exposed the conspiracy, police said.
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