The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Sundeep Singh on Tuesday awarded life imprisonment to four persons, including wife, for murdering a man and disposing of his body in a canal. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 13,000 on each convict.

The matter was reported to the Old Industrial Area police on January 16, 2022.

Rajesh Chaudhary, Deputy Director (Prosecution), said Sonu, wife of Ashok Kumar and a resident of Kabdi Road, stated in her complaint that Deepak of Karsindhu village in the Safidon area bore a grudge against her husband and her family.

She alleged that Ashok had a dispute with Deepak in June 2021, after which Deepak started harassing her husband. On December 19, Deepak came to her house and took Ashok with him. Ashok did not return home. She further alleged that on January 13, 2022, Deepak came to her house and told her that he, along with his associates, had murdered Ashok, burnt the body, and thrown it into the canal.

Following her complaint, Old Industrial Area police registered a case and arrested accused Deepak of Karsindhu village on January 17, 2022.

During investigation, it came to light that Ashok had been missing for a long time. It was also revealed that he was murdered on September 19, 2021, and his body was found on September 22. At that time, he could not be identified. Later, police identified him as Ashok through photographs and clothes. Sections related to kidnapping were also added to the case.

During interrogation, Deepak told police that he, along with his associates — Sonu, wife of the deceased; Usha, wife of Raju of Bharat Nagar; and Sombir and Ajit of Joshi village — had murdered Ashok. It was disclosed that they strangulated Ashok with a belt and threw his body into the canal. Police arrested Usha, Sonu, Sombir, and Ajit in connection with the case and produced them before the court.