Drunk man kills live-in partner over money, falls asleep as her body lies in car

A 44-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her inebriated live-in partner, who throttled her with his elbow during an altercation over money at their Chhawla residence in southwest Delhi, the police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Virendra (35), was so intoxicated that although he managed to carry the woman's body to his car, allegedly with the intention of disposing it, he was unable to drive and returned home, they said.

A senior police officer privy to the investigation said that a PCR call was received on the morning of November 26 from a neighbour, who noticed the woman's body lying inside the car while the accused was asleep in the house.

"Virendra, who is married and has children, had been living with the deceased for the past two years. The woman earlier owned a house in Palam, which they sold, and using that money, Virendra purchased a three-storey house in Chhawla under his own name in August," the officer said.

The officer added that an additional Rs 21 lakh from the sale remained with Virendra, which often became a point of contention between the two. On the intervening night of November 25 and 26, both had been allegedly drinking when a fight broke out.

During the altercation, Virendra, who works with a bus company, allegedly pinned the woman to the bed and throttled her with his elbow. After killing her, he called two friends, a man and a woman, who allegedly helped him carry the body down to the car.

The friends left soon after, and Virendra attempted to drive away to dispose of the body. However, due to his heavy intoxication, he could not continue beyond around 100 metres and returned home. Leaving the body in the car, he went back upstairs, resumed drinking and eventually fell asleep.

Around 9 am, a neighbour, who believed the couple were married, spotted the woman's body and alerted the police.

A police team reached the scene and arrested Virendra, who was still asleep. Efforts are under way to trace and apprehend his associates, the officer added.