Days after the arrest of a woman, who allegedly tortured her husband, Karan Dev, 36, to death, attributing it to accidental electrocution, her conversations with her lover and co-accused surfaced on social media brought the murder plot to the fore, police sources said on Sunday.
According to the investigator in this case, they are examining if the accused wife has used Instagram’s disappearing message feature to conceal the chats from her family and in-laws, as she was in an alleged relationship with the co-accused for the past two years.
On July 13, Karan was allegedly murdered by his wife and her lover, who happens to be the cousin of the deceased, in Uttam Nagar. His death came to light when the authorities of the Mata Rooprani Maggo Hospital informed the police about the death.
“Sushmita and her lover, Rahul, who is the son of Karan’s uncle, were arrested after Karan’s brother, Kunal, got the mobile phone of Rahul and saw the chats between the two about plotting to kill Karan,” Ankit Singh, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka), said.
Initially, it came out that Sushmita allegedly drugged Karan by giving him many sleeping pills at their residence and waited for him to die. “When Karan did not die, she started chatting with her and asked Rahul to come home and to give him electric shock,” said the source.
Preliminary investigation in this case revealed that the wife reportedly gave him around 15 sleeping pills mixed with food on the night of July 12 and kept Rahul posted about all his actions. When she felt difficulties executing the plan, she asked him to come over to her residence to help her with the electrocution.
“They kept on checking his breath, and once they felt he was dead, Sushmita allegedly rushed to her in-laws’ house nearby, telling them that Karan had collapsed, prompting them to take him to the hospital. He was brought to the hospital in an unresponsive state and was declared dead, with the medico-legal case (MLC) citing electrocution as the cause of death,” said the source.
The investigation took a turn when the Instagram chats were received from the accused’s social media, revealing the conversations between Sushmita and Rahul, plotting the murder for several days, and that he had already tried to take his life by using sleeping pills.
The police said Karan was working in a private company. His wife, Sushmita, and her brother-in-law Rahul Dev have been arrested in connection with his murder.
Another source privy to the investigation said during the checking of Rahul’s phone, the police found more than 90 Instagram messages in which they were talking openly about killing Karan.
In one of the conversations between the duo, Sushmita wrote, “Itni goliyaan de chuki hoon, fir bhi kuch nahi ho raha… ab current hi dena padega” (I have already given so many sleeping pills, still nothing is happening… now we will have to give electric shock). In another message, Rahul replied — “Uske haath pair tape se baandh dena, phir current lagana” (Tie his hands and legs with tape, then give electric shock).
The chats also disclosed that they were frustrated because the earlier attempts to kill Karan using tablets had failed. In one of the chats, Sushmita also said, “Kitni der current lagana padega ki woh mare? (How long do I need to give the shock so that he could die?)”
Sources said Sushmita and Rahul were in a relationship for the last two years. Karan’s brother told the police that he already had doubts about Sushmita’s behaviour and her closeness with Rahul.
“The duo is currently being interrogated. They have accepted that they were planning this for many weeks. It was also confessed that they had tried to kill him earlier as well,” said the source.
The officer said they have recovered chats, phone data, and other evidence. Further investigation into this case is ongoing.
Forensic reports are also awaited. Both the accused have been booked under sections of murder and criminal conspiracy, DCP Ankit Kumar Singh said.