Delhi: Man arrested for killing 60-year-old woman, hiding her body in bed box

New Delhi: A man was arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing his 60-year-old landlady and then stuffing her body in a bed box, police said on Saturday.

Devender alias "Dev" (31) had "physical relations" with the victim, Asha Devi, and he told police that she was against him marrying another woman, they said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Joy Tirkey said, "He was arrested from Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh on Saturday morning."

Devi's body was recovered on Friday from her house in North East Delhi's Nand Nagari area, five days after she was killed.

Devender had come to Delhi in 2015 from Aligarh in search for work and he started a copper wire packing business. But during the Covid pandemic, he suffered losses, the official said.

For the last two years, he had no employment, and had taken money from his father, who lives in Aligarh, by telling him that he was studying in Germany, Tirkey said. He added that his father had to sell a piece of land to arrange the money.

He had moved into Devi's house in Nand Nagri as a tenant in 2019 and they eventually became friends, police said and added that they had "physical relations".

In 2021, Devender met another woman who was also a tenant of Devi, they said and added that Devi gave rooms on rent at a building owned by her.

Devender had told the other woman that he was working with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and could get her brother a job at the agency, police said.

He and the other woman decided to get married and their engagement was held on December 4 in Aligarh, they said.

Devi was infuriated with the developments and she phoned Devender and asked him to meet her. On December 10, he reached her house in the afternoon, according to police.

"Devi told Devender that she would not allow him to marry the other woman. Devender protested but she refused to listen to him," the DCP said.

Devender told police that Devi slapped him and he, in fit of rage, hit her in the head with a brick.

When she fell unconscious, he hit her multiple times with the brick. He also tried to strangulate her, according to police.

He then bought 20 metres of plastic sheet from a nearby shop, wrapped the body with it and stuffed it inside a bed box on the ground floor of the building, they said.

Devi was carrying Rs 13,000 cash, which he took along with the jewellery she was wearing, police said. He then fled to Aligarh.

The matter came to the fore on December 15. People informed police about foul smell emanating from a room. When the bed box was opened, the decomposed body of Devi was recovered, police said.