Kabaddi player Sheelu Balhara booked after wife found dead in Haryana home

According to the police, Muskan’s body was found in her room on the first floor of her house in Bahu Akbarpur village.

Her in-laws were present on the ground floor of the house at the time of the incident, the police said. “When they called her, she did not respond. They went upstairs and found the door was locked from inside. They broke open the door and found her dead. Immediately, they alerted the police and Muskan’s parents,” said an officer.

Muskan, a native of Meham’s Farmana village, got married to Sheelu Balhara on December 8, 2023. The couple has a nine-month-old son, Hardik.

Sukhbir stated that Muskan called him on Friday, saying that Balhara and his family members were conspiring to kill her. “When I was unable to contact Muskan again, I, along with other family members, went to Bahu Akbarpur, where we found her body lying on a cot. Undoubtedly, my daughter has been murdered by her husband and his family members,” Sukhbir told the police.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Tanuj Sharma told reporters that the police did not recover any suicide note from the spot. “Based on Muskan’s father’s written complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against Sheelu, his brother, father and mother. Further investigation is going on,” Sharma said.

The police said that the exact cause of the death shall be ascertained after the postmortem examination that is to be conducted on Saturday.

“The body has been kept at the hospital’s mortuary for postmortem examination after which it shall be handed over to her relatives. Further investigations shall follow,” said Jasbir, Station House Officer, Bahu Akbarpur.

On Friday night, Muskan’s parents and relatives staged a protest outside Balhara’s house and the civil hospital, where her body was kept, demanding an impartial probe. Later, villagers in the locality also gathered and held talks with Muskan’s parents and in-laws.