Wife murders 'alcoholic' husband, buries body in house  

A middle-aged tribal woman allegedly murdered her 'alcoholic' husband after a heated argument and buried the body inside the house for over 10 days in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district, police said on Saturday.

The incident happened at Tilaiyatan village under Tundi police station limit.

The body of the husband will be exhumed on Saturday and will be sent to Shahid Nirmal Mahato Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem, they said.

Tundi police station in-charge Uma Shankar told PTI that Surji Majhiyain (42) had murdered her husband, identified as Suresh Hansda (45) and dug a pit and buried the body inside a room of the thatched mud baked house in the village.

"The matter was exposed only after relatives of Suresh Hansda suspected foul play at not finding him at the last rites or at the funeral of his uncle, who had died 10 days ago. Neighbours also found foul smell emanating from the house. It was then that the relatives informed the police on Friday evening. The wife had been giving different versions about her husband's absence, but on strict interrogation, she broke down and confessed to her crime. We have arrested the woman," said Uma Shankar.

"The woman claimed that she was fed up with frequent quarrels with her husband, who used to come drunk almost every day and had affairs with several women. She has also claimed to have killed her husband with a lathi (stick) and a sickle. We are trying to recover the weapons," said Uma Shankar.

The police officer said that they have given a requisition to the district administration for deputation of a magistrate for exhuming the body.

"We will exhume the body of the husband on Saturday only after deputation of a magistrate by the district administration and send the body for post-mortem at the Shahid Nirmal Mahato Medical College and Hospital in Dhanbad," he added.

A police officer said that neighbours had also suspected foul play after she started giving different versions of her husband's absence.

"She is claiming that she beat him to death 10 days ago, neighbours and relatives also claim it to be more than 10 days, as Suresh did not attend the funeral of his uncle 10 days back. On Friday evening, some relatives and neighbours forcibly entered the house and found a foul smell coming from the room and informed the police. However, the exact date of the murder can be cleared only after autopsy," said Uma Shankar.