The husband of a 30-year-old joint magistrate, whose body was found hanging in her house here, was today arrested for allegedly murdering her as she refused to undergo an abortion, police said.
The body of Pratibha Gautam, who was three months pregnant, was found hanging in her house at Circuit House colony here yesterday with her husband Manu Abhishek claiming that he had found the body after he returned from Delhi.
The post-mortem report has confirmed it to be a case of murder. Injury marks were found on her hands and legs which indicate that she was probably beaten with a rod, Assistant Superintendent of Police Shalabh Mathur said.
Police suspect that she was strangulated using a rope and then hanged from the ceiling fan. Injury marks from blade were found on her wrists.
He said Abhishek was arrested after police went through his call details and WhatsApp records. He is being questioned by the police. His parents and Gautam's domestic help are also being questioned, he said.
The couple were having frequent fights recently as Abhishek wanted her to undergo an abortion and she had refused, Mathur said.
Gautam was posted in Kanpur (Rural) and the two had married in January this year against the wishes of their families.
Abhishek had claimed that she had gone to Delhi two days ago and came back on Saturday, following which her phone was switched off. After being unable to contact her, he said he left for Kanpur from Delhi and found her body hanging from the ceiling fan in the house.
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