Husband was the target,second wife killed,say police

Police claimed to have recovered a pistol and a motorcycle from Neetu alias Sandeep,a resident of Gannaur near Sonepat in Haryana.

Police said Neetu forced the cycle-rickshaw Meenakshi was on and shot her in the stomach. As she tried to run and hide behind cars,he followed and shot her in the forehead. Meenakshi’s son witnessed the incident and watched his mother bleed to death.

Eight years ago,Meenakshi’s husband Parwinder had married Neetu’s sister,but the two parted ways later. Their divorce case was still pending in court when Parwinder married Meenakshi.

Police said Neetu blamed Parwinder for ruining his sister’s life. “He wanted to kill Parwinder and went looking for him at his workplace. When he did not find him there,he went to Parwinder’s house and waited outside. Meenakshi was going to drop her four-year-old son at his playschool. He started following Meenakshi and later shot her with an automatic,” Joint Commissioner of Police (North) Tejinder Luthra said.

Neetu was traced through the motorcycle registration number,police said. Families of Parwinder and Meenakshi,too,had alleged that Neetu was behind the murder.

“Neetu was arrested from Bawana where he was staying with a relative. He was moving on his motorcycle but had removed its number-plate,” Luthra said.

During questioning,Neetu reportedly told police that Parwinder married his sister in 2004,but later started living with Meenakshi. This had strained their relationship and his sister returned to her parents’ home. A compromise was reached between the couple in 2010 and his sister returned to Parwinder’s home,but he again went back to Meenakshi.

“Neetu threatened Parwinder a few days ago. On the day,he wanted to kill his brother-in-law,” Luthra said.

Meenakshi’s brother Naveen told Newsline that when his sister married Parwinder she was aware of his first marriage. “The divorce case was going on in the court then.”

Naveen said Parwinder had received the death threat on August 30 — the day he celebrated his son’s fourth birthday — but he told the family about it only after Meenakshi’s death. “Maybe he,too,never imagined this. Their son is staying with us and is in shock,” Naveen said.