Palghar family of 4 strangles daughter-in-law for suspected affair

Sarita Verma and her husband Abhimanyu Verma in happier times

The day when 24-year-old Sarita Verma called up her mother and said that her in-laws would kill her, she did not pay much heed to her daughter's concerns and instead asked her to try and adjust in the family. What she didn't know was that Sarita's fear would become a reality. Police have arrested four members of the Palghar-based family for strangling Sarita to death on the suspicion that she was having an extra-marital affair. However, though the cops believe that her husband was not a part of the conspiracy, they are probing all possible angles to the case.

Double post-mortem
According to Palghar police, the accused tried to make the incident look like a suicide. They informed the cops that Sarita was found hanging in her room. However, her post-mortem report at Virar rural hospital revealed that she died due to asphyxiation. After she was taken to JJ Hospital for a re-examination, it was confirmed that she was hit on her head with a blunt object and then strangled to death. Injury marks were also found on her body and private parts. The police further said that a day prior to the incident, the accused had sent her husband Abhimanyu Verma to a relative's place.

Parents not bothered
For around five years after their marriage in 2010, Sarita and Abhimanyu led a happy life, but soon problems started in the family. Her in-laws used to beat her up on the suspicion that she was having an extra-marital affair. She often used to share her problems with her parents, who stay at Dharavi, over phone. However, they never paid much heed to it. Even when last month Sarita called up her mother and pleaded her to take her back to Dharavi, she asked her to try and resolve the issues.

Speaking to mid-day, Sarita's father Ramsanoi Kahar said, "Her mother had asked her to try and adjust in the family. But she did not know that just a month later we would get a call from her in-laws saying that she was admitted to the hospital." When her parents reached Palghar, they were told that Sarita had committed suicide.

Booked for murder
Based on the second post-mortem report, Valiv police arrested her in-laws identified as Mahesh (51) and Sheela (48) along with her sister-in-law Rekha Verma and brother-in-law Bhagat. "All four of them have been arrested under sections 498 (enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman) and 302 (punishment for murder) of IPC. Further investigations into the matter is on," said Mahesh Patil, senior police officer of Valiv police station.