After three daughters, man murders ‘pregnant’ wife, dumps body in drain in Ghaziabad

Couple had a fight after the woman allegedly conceived a fourth time and he stabbed her.

The Ghaziabad police on Wednesday arrested a 35-year-old man, who allegedly murdered his ‘pregnant’ wife, as he did not want a fourth child because the couple already had three minor daughters. The body of the 30-year-old woman was found in a drain near Crossings Republik on August 25.

The police said they arrested Rajiv Poddar, a shop owner from Dundahera, on charges of murdering his wife Sanjana.(Sakib Ali/HT)

The police said they arrested Rajiv Poddar, a shop owner from Dundahera, on charges of murdering his wife Sanjana. The couple hailed from Darbhanga in Bihar and had been staying at Dundahera for the past couple of years.

“The accused told us that there was some altercation on the night of August 19 over the fourth child. He said his wife was pregnant for the fourth time and they already had three minor girls aged six, four and three years. He said he did not want to have a fourth one and that led to the altercation,” Manisha Singh, circle officer (city I), said.

The police said that during the altercation on the night of August 19, the man allegedly picked up a kitchen knife and stabbed her at least four times, killing her.

“The same night, he packed the body in a gunny bag and drove his two-wheeler to Crossings Republik. There, he threw the body in a drain and it was recovered on August 25. In the meantime, the man also lodged a missing person complaint. However, the woman’s family lodged an FIR of murder and destruction of evidence and raised

the suspicion that her husband may have murdered her,” Singh said.

When the police questioned him, the man broke down and allegedly admitted to the crime.

“The post-mortem examination has not clearly indicated that the woman was pregnant. The column related to internal organs has been left blank in the report. We will verify the pregnancy angle with the help of the supplementary report,” Singh said.

Following the arrest of the accused from near ABES exit, the police also recovered the two-wheeler which was allegedly used to carry the body of the woman as well as the knife which was used to kill her.