Nearly a year after a man went missing in Kanpur, police have uncovered that he was murdered by his wife and nephew, who then buried his body in a pit behind their house.
The case, which initially appeared to be a disappearance, was solved following a formal missing person report filed in August and a subsequent police investigation that revealed the crime took place on November 2 last year.
The victim had been working in Gujarat and would return home every six or seven months. Meanwhile, his wife developed an illicit relationship with their nephew. When the man came home in 2024, the couple had a fight over this and later the nephew and the wife conspired on the victim’s murder.
The accused managed to hide their crime for 11 months. Whenever the victim’s mother would ask about him, the accused wife misled her saying that she was in touch with him or had talked to him on call.
The murder came to light after the victim’s mother persistently approached the police, urging them to file a missing person report. Though there was a delay, the report was eventually lodged in August, which set the wheels of investigation in motion.
HOW THE CASE UNFOLDED
On the night of the incident, after consuming alcohol, he reportedly had a fight with his wife. It was later revealed during the investigation that he was murdered the same night.
“The man used to beat his wife. She had an illicit relationship with her nephew. The victim used to fight and beat her over this. On the night of November 2, his wife and her nephew laced his tea with an intoxicant. Once he lost consciousness, they killed him by attacking with some metallic substance. After he died, they buried his body in a pit dug behind the house,” West Kanpur DCP Dinesh Tripathi said.
“After the report was filed post-August 16, the investigation revealed that while the family had claimed the man was in Gujarat and regularly communicating, this was false. His wife had been misleading the family, stating she was in touch with him,” Tripathi explained.
Further investigation led to the discovery of the burial site. It was also found that the accused had tampered with the pit multiple times to conceal the crime. “They noticed the soil was settling, which raised suspicion, so they refilled it in an attempt to cover it up,” said Tripathi.
When questioned, both the wife and nephew confessed to the crime. They admitted that once the victim was unconscious, they attacked him with a weapon, leading to his death.
Police recovered bones and hair from the grave, which have been sent for forensic testing and DNA analysis.
Tripathi confirmed that all scientific procedures are now underway. “The case was complicated by attempts to hide the truth. But despite the 11-month delay, the police have managed to uncover the full story through a thorough investigation.”
The woman and her nephew are now in police custody and have been formally charged with murder. The investigation continues.