A bureaucrat was killed by her unemployed husband at her home in Madhya Pradesh yesterday. The man even tried to hide the evidence and distract the police by lying to them about the manner of death. Manish Sharma was upset because sub-divisional magistrate Nisha Napit - posted in Shahpura in Dindori district - didn't name him her nominee in her service book, insurance and bank account, police said.
He smothered her with a pillow and after that washed her blood-stained clothes to destroy all evidence. The police also found a pillow cover and bedsheet in a washing machine at the bureaucrat's home.
The development comes after Ms Napit's sister, Nilima Napit, accused Mr Sharma of murdering her and claimed that he used to torture her for money.
"He used to harass Nisha for money. My sister did not have any disease. Manish has done something wrong. He even didn't let the house help enter Nisha's room," she claimed.
The 45-year-old has been arrested and a case registered against him under sections 302,304 B and 201 of IPC.
Nisha Napit and Manish Sharma, who had met on a matrimonial site, got married in 2020. The family was not a part of the wedding as she told us about it much later, Ms Napit's sister claimed.
On Sunday, the husband took the official to a hospital around 4 pm where she was declared dead on arrival. Police reached the hospital as soon as they got the news of her death.
Even though Mr Sharma tried to paint it as a normal death and said she was suffering from a kidney ailment, the officer's sister refused to buy her theory. "I am sure her husband murdered her. He used to torture her physically and mentally," she told media yesterday.
When the police asked Mr Sharma about her wife's sudden death, he cooked up an elaborate story: "She was suffering from a kidney ailment. She was keeping a fast on Saturday, She vomited at night after which she was given some medicine". She didn't wake up the next day, he claimed.
"I didn't wake up in the morning and she didn't have any work as it was a Sunday. I went for a walk after the maid came at 10 am. When I came back at 2 pm, she still hadn't woken up. I tried to wake her up, gave her CPR. I called the doctor who asked me to take her to a hospital," he claimed.
When the doctors checked her at the hospital, they found her bleeding from her nose and mouth. The police soon after arrested Mr Sharma based on her post-mortem report, witness statements and probing the crime spot.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Mukesh Shrivastava praised the investigating team for solving the case in 24 hours and announced a reward of Rs 20,000.