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How a friend’s missing complaint helped Delhi Police nab man who killed, buried his wife
Police said Shabab Ali, a painter, was suspicious that his wife was having an affair and decided to kill her.
The body of the victim was exhumed after 11 days on August 15. The couple has two children – a daughter and a son. (Express photo)
Shabab Ali had been suspicious that his wife, Rabab, was allegedly having an affair — so he decided to get rid of her.
For four days towards the end of July, police said, he kept her confined and drugged at an under-construction site in Mehrauli’s Dera Gaon, where he was working as a painter.
Police said he allegedly kept giving her sleeping pills and weedicide, causing her to fall ill. Fearing that his employer would discover his actions, he took her back home — and continued to allegedly poison her.
On August 2, police said Ali was frustrated that Rabab was still alive and allegedly strangled her to death. Then, he, along with three of his friends, buried the body in a graveyard in South Delhi’s Chandan Hola village, said police.
According to the police, Ali (47), was arrested on August 15. Two of his friends who allegedly aided him in committing the crime, Shahrukh Khan (28) and Tanveer (25), were arrested the following day.
Police then exhumed the woman’s body, 11 days after her death. The couple has two children – a daughter, aged 11, and a son, aged 5.
DCP (South) Ankit Chauhan said, “On August 10, a complaint was filed by a woman that her 30-year-old friend, a resident of T-Block in Mehrauli, was missing. She also suspected wrongful confinement. Based on the complaint, a kidnapping case was registered at Mehrauli police station.”
Police said the friend had last spoken to Rabab on July 27.
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Following this, the DCP said they carried out technical surveillance and CCTV analysis, which revealed that Ali, along with his associates, transported his wife in a car — in an unconscious condition — towards their Mehrauli home on July 31.
Officers familiar with the investigation said Ali had initially taken his wife to his workplace — the under-construction site — and kept her there for four days from July 27 to July 31.
Fearing that his employer might find out, he gave her tea laced with sleeping pills and brought her back home in a car with the help of his friends. Later, he allegedly forced her to consume weedicide again, but she kept throwing up. So he allegedly thrashed her and later strangled her to death, police said.
“The accused and his friends then broke open the gate of the graveyard and buried her. The spade used to dig the grave has been recovered,” said an officer.
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To avoid suspicion, police said, Ali traveled to Amroha, switched on his wife’s mobile phone, and sent a message to her friend — who had filed the missing person’s complaint — claiming Rabab was getting married to another man in her village. He also allegedly dumped the phone at Amroha.
“On sustained questioning, Ali broke down and admitted that on August 2, suspecting infidelity, he killed his wife after administering sleeping pills and weedicide (for days). He further disclosed that with the help of his associates, he transported the body later that night and buried it in a graveyard at Chandan Hola,” DCP Chauhan said.
Later, police took approval from the sub-divisional magistrate, and the body was exhumed in the presence of policemen. The remains were examined and sent for further analysis, police said. Police said the post-mortem report also showed a head injury.
The car used to transport and dispose of the body was recovered from Shahrukh, they added.
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Efforts are on to apprehend a fourth accused who is absconding, said police.
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