Wife and Mother-in-Law Kill Husband Over Property Dispute and Blackmail in UP

A man in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh was murdered by his wife and mother-in-law following a prolonged property dispute that escalated to blackmail, police officials reported on Tuesday.

The deceased, identified as 35-year-old Sonu, was found dead in Jivana Guliyan village on Sunday morning, prompting his brother to file a police complaint that led to a case being registered against seven individuals.

According to Binouli police station in-charge Rakesh Kumar Sharma, the investigation revealed that Sonu had been embroiled in a contentious property dispute with his mother-in-law for an extended period.

During police interrogation, Sonu's wife Sonia and her mother Saroj confessed to the murder. Sonia disclosed that her mother, who resided with them, had purchased a plot of land for Rs 3 lakh some time ago, which has since appreciated significantly in value to approximately Rs 30 lakh.

Police reports indicate that Sonu had been persistently pressuring his mother-in-law to transfer ownership of the property to his name. The situation took a disturbing turn when, according to Sonia's confession, Sonu secretly recorded her mother while bathing and threatened to make the footage public if the property wasn't transferred to him.

Distressed by these threats and ongoing blackmail, the mother and daughter devised a plan to eliminate Sonu. On Saturday evening, they allegedly mixed sleeping pills into his milk, and once he fell into a deep sleep, they strangled him with a rope.

In an attempt to disguise the murder as suicide, they hung the body, broke his mobile phone, and concealed it in a straw-filled room before performing his last rites.

Officer Sharma confirmed that both women were produced before the court on Tuesday and subsequently sent to judicial custody as the investigation continues.