Man arrested for killing wife in Shimla village

A man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and for trying to destroy the evidence of the crime by burning her body at Ganseri village, around 18 km from Shimla.

The deceased has been identified as Gulshan (26) while the accused has been identified as Tota Ram (33). Tota Ram works as a security guard while Gulshan was an ASHA worker. The couple also had a four-year-old son.

According to reports, the crime came to light on May 14 when Gulshan’s mother tried to contact her but was not able to do so as her phone number was not reachable. Gulshan’s brother along with a few other family members reached Ganseri village. Upon reaching the village, they were shocked to find the partially burnt body of Gulshan, lying in a pit near the house.

Tota Ram had filed a missing complaint in the police station after committing the crime. It was also revealed that he tried to burn the body with the intention of destroying evidence. He had kept the body in a freshly dug pit near the courtyard of the house.

A police team reached the crime scene after receiving information from Gulshan’s family members and recovered the burnt body and also gathered crucial evidence from the spot. The body was then taken to the Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) and Hospital for a post-mortem examination after which it was handed over to her family members for cremation.

The police said that the accused had been arrested and an investigation was going on. A case under Section 103 (murder) and 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) had been registered against the accused. According to the police, Gulshan’s family had claimed that the accused was married to Gulshan for five years but used to torture her for dowry.