Mohd Talib’s family suspects foul play in his death after his wife Ilma reportedly confessed to murder.
Police have registered an FIR and sought the Meerut DM’s permission to exhume the body for a postmortem. Permission was granted and the body is scheduled to be exhumed on Tuesday.
MEERUT: A 30-year-old mason, whose death was initially treated as natural and whose body was buried, is now at the centre of a murder investigation after his family alleged that his wife and her lover strangled him in Lohia Nagar. Talib died on September 28. The family took the body to Muzaffarnagar, where it was buried on September 29. A search on October 1 and 2 led to the phone being found hidden among clothes. During questioning, Ilma allegedly told the family that Talib regularly assaulted her and had beaten her on September 28 as well.
His cousin Mohd Akram said Ilma’s family informed them of his death and described it as natural. Neighbours also told the family that Ilma was close to Aman, who runs the beauty studio, and that the two were frequently seen together at a park and at her house. The family also asked for Talib’s phone, but Ilma allegedly said it was missing. The family said chats, call details and voice recordings between Ilma and Aman raised further suspicion. She allegedly said she called Aman to the house in anger. Aman arrived with a friend, and the two beat Talib before overpowering him with Ilma’s help, according to her alleged account. Ilma allegedly said Aman asked her to tell the family that Talib had suffered a heart attack and promised to marry her after her iddat.
Aman then allegedly strangled Talib with Ilma’s dupatta. The family recorded the alleged confession on video, which has since gone viral. The video has not been independently verified.
Relatives had photographed Talib’s body before the funeral and at the graveyard. Their suspicions grew after they alleged that Ilma began packing valuables from the house even before the burial.