Woman found dead, dad says husband killed her for opposing illicit affair

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Patna: A 25-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband in Vaishali district for opposing his extramarital affair. Puni Kumari had apparently been missing from her in-laws’ house for the last three days. Her body was recovered from the Ganga on Thursday.
The woman’s family members alleged that her husband, Avinash Kumar, and his family had killed her. Avinash and his family are on the run. Raids are being conducted to nab the accused, police said.
According to the police, Puni, daughter of Lal Babu Rai, a resident of Rustampur in Vaishali district, got married to Avinash, a native of Rampur Shyamchand village, some five years back.
The couple has two children — a three-year-old son and a one-year-old daughter. According to Puni’s father, Avinash allegedly has an extramarital affair, which she had opposed, leading to her death.
Raghopur SHO, Pankaj Kumar, said, “Her husband, Avinash, used to run a grocery store in Delhi. The deceased’s father claimed his son-in-law was having an illicit affair with another woman for the past six months. When Puni objected to this, she was physically assaulted. Troubled by the harassment, Puni told her husband to marry the other woman and let her live in peace.”
Puni’s father told the police that two months back, Avinash brought her from Delhi to Rampur Shyamchand village. “When Puni insisted on staying with Avinash, he strangled her to death and threw her body in the river,” the SHO said, quoting the father.
Lal Babu, in his statement, mentioned that villagers raised suspicion his daughter may have been murdered. He told the police that when he reached Avinash’s house, no one was there.
Following this, Lal Babu filed a complaint with the police, suspecting murder. The family also began searching for her. Three days later, the body was found in the Ganga at Zamindari Ghat, eight kilometres from the house. The police were immediately informed.
“The deceased’s father has also alleged that he gave Rs 2 lakh and jewellery as dowry at the wedding. After some time, the in-laws began to harass the daughter. The husband started demanding Rs 6 lakh to start a business. A case has been registered based on the father’s statement. The body has been sent to Sadar Hospital, Hajipur, for post-mortem. Further investigation is on,” the SHO added.