Seeking revenge for the allegedly growing proximity between her husband and her sister-in-law, a woman smothered her three-year-old niece and then stuffed the body in her bed box.
Strong stench emanating from the decomposing body, however, gave away the 22-year-old killer woman’s secret, the police said on Thursday.
Identified as Asina, the girl had gone missing on Tuesday afternoon.
She had been killed the same afternoon, the police said. Asina’s body was discovered on Wednesday night while investigators were questioning the victim’s family members.
Asina’s father Firoz Alam puts up his stall in the flea market in the area. Alam, his wife and their two children lived with her brother Aftab’s family in Mustafabad’s Indra Vihar.
However, Firoz’s wife Firdos and Aftab’s wife Roshan did not share cordial relations and frequently indulged in quarrels. “Roshan suspected her husband of being in an illicit relation with Firdos,” A.K. Singla, DCP (North-East), cited as the reason behind the quarrels.
Firdos alleged that Roshan had tried to kill her daughter even in the past. “She had once fed her several sleeping pills. On another occasion, Roshan had spilled boiling oil on my daughter’s hands,” alleged Firdos. The police said they were yet to probe these allegations.
One such quarrel between the two women allegedly left Roshan seething with jealousy and seeking revenge. Around 1.45 p.m. on Thursday, Roshan lured Asina into her room by offering her Rs.10.
While playing in Roshan’s room, Asina soon dozed away. “Roshan used her hands to smother the child to death. She then hurriedly stuffed the body in her bed box and covered it with clothes,” said the officer.
Meanwhile, realising that the girl was missing from the house, the family launched a search for her. When they were unable to trace her, they approached the police which took over the search operation.
Twenty teams were constituted to track the girl and her information was shared with all concerned agencies in Delhi and nearby regions. Two teams were deployed near the girl’s home to hunt for clues.
It was on Wednesday night when the police were speaking to the family members when the policemen felt noticed a strong stench emanating from Roshan’s room.
“When the policemen asked her about it, she tried to pass it off as the smell from the cooler and prevent the police from searching the room,” said the DCP.
The police, however, insisted on a search.
“The smell led the police to the bed box, opening which they found a pile of clothes from which the child’s feet were popping out. The clothes were removed to recover Asina’s body,” said Asina’s cousin Mohammad Salman who was present at the spot.
The woman was put under sustained interrogation during which she confessed to killing the girl. She was booked for murder and arrested. The police said they are still investigating if anyone else had a hand in the murder or were aware.
Police said the stench of the decomposing body which was kept in a bed box gave away the secret
