A murder case in Agra in Uttar Pradesh shocked residents after police found the skeletal remains of a man buried below the floor of a bathroom of his own home, which police say was the only place where a 45-day missing person has not been found. The case was brought to a head when the wife of the victim allegedly confessed that her husband had never gone missing and had been killed inside the house.
The case was reported from Sikandra in Agra. Police have arrested Ruby, Surendra Sharma’s wife, on murder and destruction of evidence charges. The body was concealed in the house for nearly a half month while police continued searching for the missing man, they said.
Surendra Sharma was unemployed and had an alcohol addiction, the police said. He was regularly returning home drunk and his wife was repeatedly assaulted, officials said. The family was scraping by on the pension for Surendra’s elderly mother.
Ruby told investigators during the questioning that she had been subject to domestic violence for a long time. She said on May 26, after another violent incident, she decided to kill her husband. Police say she dug a pit under the bathroom floor and buried his body to hide the crime and prevent suspicion of her husband’s murder.
The disappearance itself caused a police investigation to begin. On the day Surendra was last seen, his brother Anil Sharma filed a missing person's complaint at Sikandra Police Station. They spent 45 days searching for clues, interviewing family members, and visiting the family home. At no point did investigators suspect that the victim’s remains were hidden inside the same house.
The investigation took a dramatic turn Thursday night when Ruby allegedly disclosed to her mother-in-law that Surendra was not missing but killed and buried under the bathroom floor, police said. The victim’s brother was so shocked that he immediately contacted the police.
A police team rushed back to the house and Ruby was taken into custody. She said she repeated her confession during questioning, the cops said. Officers excavated the bathroom floor and found skeletal remains believed to be those of Surendra Sharma.
The remains were sent for post-mortem examination to establish the cause of death and confirm the victim's identity through forensic examination. Police have sealed the house and are looking at whether Ruby acted alone or received assistance in carrying out or concealing the alleged crime.
Investigators will also look at forensic evidence, witness accounts and the timeline of events leading up to the murder, police said. All aspects of the case are being thoroughly investigated before filing the final chargesheet, they added.
All of this is only making it worse the tragedy of alleged domestic violence and the complexities of crimes committed within families. The police will be investigating but would also need to see what evidence from the forensic examination and other evidence gathered as a result of the investigation is available.
