The body of Ashish Kumar, a 27-year-old man, was found on a deserted road in Sri Ganganagar on 30 January, just three months after his wedding.
His wife, Anjali, initially told police that the couple had been hit by an unknown vehicle during a late-night walk and that her jewellery had been stolen. Based on this account, the case was first treated as a hit-and-run.
The investigation changed course after the post-mortem examination. The report showed that Ashish had not been run over. Instead, he had been beaten with sticks and strangled.
As police probed further, they found that Anjali had been in a relationship with a waiter named Sanjay for nearly seven years. Police said her family was aware of the relationship but still proceeded with her marriage to Ashish.
Also Read: Mumbai Horror | DNA Test Confirms Father Raped and Impregnated Daughter
After the wedding, Anjali briefly returned to her parents’ home before coming back in contact with Sanjay. Police said this was when the plan to kill Ashish took shape.
On the night of 30 January, Ashish and Anjali stepped out for a walk after dinner. Relatives told police that Anjali insisted on taking a deserted route that the family usually avoided. Police said Sanjay arrived there with two other men and waited in hiding.
When the couple reached the isolated stretch, Ashish was attacked with sticks and then strangled. Police said he died on the spot.
To make the killing appear like a road accident, police alleged that Anjali handed over Ashish’s mobile phone and her earrings to the attackers. She then lay beside him and pretended to be unconscious. Initially, the scene appeared to support the hit-and-run version.
Also Read: Delhi Man Thrashed After Stopping Alleged Eve-Teasing in Saket
However, injuries on Ashish’s body did not match that account, and inconsistencies in Anjali’s statements raised further suspicion.
On 3 February, police arrested Anjali, Sanjay and two other men in connection with the murder.
The case drew comparisons with last year’s Meghalaya honeymoon murder, in which a newlywed husband was killed in an alleged plot involving his wife and her lover.
According to the most recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau, nearly 28,000 murders were recorded in India in 2023, with around 1,350 linked to illicit relationships.
