Indian man who beat wife to death with a dumbbell told brother in law: ‘I am killing her’

“I am killing her,” he told her brother as he assaulted her with a dumbbell before hanging up. Five minutes later, he called back. “She is dead, come to the hospital,” the brother is quoted as saying to Indian media as he recalled the chilling murder of his four-month pregnant sister at the hands of her spouse.

On the surface, it seemed like a normal marriage. The couple had met while in college in Panipat and wed on Nov 23, 2023. First, they tried to live in a joint family system, but owing to repeated disagreements with the extended family about dowry, they decided a nuclear set-up worked better for them.

Soon, the couple – she, a commando of Delhi Police, him, a clerk in the Ministry of Defence posted in Delhi Cantonment – welcomed a child. Their son is currently one-and-a-half-years old.

While every couple has disagreements about the logistics of finances, chores, and raising children, in this home, the arguments began to take a toxic turn.

She was – her mother tells ANI – harassed by her in-laws over money and had been pushed into taking a loan from her own parents for them. The mum also said her husband had asked them for cash. Her father told media: "We gave them a Bullet bike, gold jewellery and cash at the wedding, but they said our son would have got a car (had he married someone else). Later, my daughter even arranged a car, but they didn't stop harassing her. We couldn't even speak freely to her.”

Her brother recalled an alarming incident that took place five months before she was brutally killed. He told PTI that the husband had slapped her. "I went there and asked her to come with me. Ankur apologised and swore on his child that he wouldn't repeat it. I told my sister she could return home whenever she wanted and didn't have to stay there," he said.

He also called attention to her living conditions, saying that even after she got home after a long day at work, the pregnant victim was made to do household chores such as cook, wash clothes and dishes.

On that fateful day, on Jan 22, she allegedly got into an argument with her irate husband. And he called the brother to intercede and talk ‘some sense into the woman’. But when he did and she told him what had happened, the husband got enraged and began to assault her. Snatching the phone from her, he told the brother that even authorities wouldn’t be able to stop him. "He said to me, 'Is call ko recording pe rakh, police evidence me kaam aayega. Main maar raha hoon teri behen ko. Police mera kuch nahi kar payegi' (Put this call on recording, it will be useful as police evidence. I am killing your sister. Police won't be able to do anything). Then I heard her screams. The call ended abruptly," he was quoted as telling NDTV.

Five minutes later, she was unconscious and had suffered severe wounds.

The husband then called the brother back. “He [called back and] said, 'Ye mar gayi hai. Hospital aajao' (She is dead. Come to the hospital). We rushed there with police personnel. He and his family were already present."

She died in the hospital five days later.

The family lodged a First Information Report (FIR) that puts the time of attack between 10pm and 10.30pm at their house in West Delhi on Jan 22. She suffered blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Her family alleges multiple bruises in addition to the fatal blow.

The husband was taken into custody hours after she died, and a case of murder has been registered against him.

Their young son is currently with her parents.  "Her son doesn't know anything about the incident, and we have decided that we will only raise him. We will tell him when he is mature enough to understand such things," says her brother.