Wife and lover arrested for husband’s murder; body dumped in Haryana drain

A woman and her lover have been arrested for allegedly plotting and executing the murder of her husband, whose body was later dumped in a drain in Haryana’s Sonipat, the Delhi Police said on Saturday.

The accused have been identified as Soniya (34), a resident of Alipur, and her 28-year-old lover, Rohit, a native of Sonipat.

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Police said the motive behind the murder was the woman’s illicit relationship with Rohit, compounded by her husband’s abusive and criminal behaviour.

Briefing the media, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Harsh Indora said, “Pritam Prakash (42), the deceased, was a known history-sheeter in Alipur and had more than 10 criminal cases registered against him, including under the Arms Act, NDPS Act, and various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He had also been declared a proclaimed offender by the court.”

On July 5, 2024, Pritam had gone to Sonipat to bring back Soniya but left after a scuffle. That day, Soniya allegedly asked her sister’s brother-in-law, Vijay, to kill him, offering Rs 50,000 as payment. Later, Pritam returned, pleaded with her, and agreed to stay.

However, on the night of the murder, while Soniya was sleeping on the terrace, Vijay allegedly killed Pritam and dumped his body in a drain near Agwanpur. Vijay also reportedly sent her a video of the body via social media, which was later deleted.

Subsequently, Soniya filed a missing person complaint with the Alipur police, claiming her husband had gone out and never returned. Initially treated as a routine case, the matter raised suspicion when Pritam left no financial or digital footprint for several weeks.

During the investigation, police traced Pritam’s mobile number, which had been inactive for nearly a year but suddenly became active again. Surveillance led investigators to Rohit in Sonipat.

During questioning, Rohit initially tried to mislead the investigators but eventually confessed to the crime. He admitted that he was in a relationship with Soniya and that they had conspired to murder Pritam.

The killing was allegedly carried out during a visit to Soniya’s sister’s house in Gannaur, where she paid Vijay to execute the plan.

Around the same time, police in Haryana had recovered an unidentified male body from the area. However, the identity of the body could not be determined, and the case remained unsolved until Delhi Police connected the dots nearly a year later.

According to the police, Soniya later sold Pritam’s auto-rickshaw for Rs 4.5 lakh and handed over his mobile phone to Rohit. DNA samples preserved during the Haryana post-mortem will now be used to conclusively identify the body.

Police revealed that Soniya had fallen in love with Pritam when she was around 15 years old, and they married against their families’ wishes. “The families initially disapproved, but later accepted the marriage. They have three children, including a 16-year-old boy and two daughters,” the officer added.

Rohit, who was previously involved in four criminal cases including murder and offences under the Arms Act got married in April 2025 and worked as a private cab driver. Despite his marriage, he continued his extramarital relationship with Soniya.

Further investigation is underway, and efforts are on to locate Vijay, who is currently absconding.