Ghaziabad: Shocking details have emerged in the murder of a 48-year-old woman whose body was found stuffed inside a red suitcase in Ghaziabad’s Rajnagar Extension, two days after the crime was committed.
Police said the accused couple, Akriti Gupta (33) and her husband Ajay Gupta (35), killed their landlady, Deepshikha Sharma, following a heated argument over unpaid rent. The incident took place on Wednesday evening at around 8 pm in Aura Chimera Society, where the couple had been living as tenants for the past year.
According to investigators, Deepshikha had gone to the couple’s flat to collect five months’ pending rent. An argument broke out, during which Ajay Gupta was allegedly bitten by the woman while trying to defend herself. In a fit of rage, Akriti allegedly strangled Deepshikha with a scarf, while Ajay struck her on the head with a pressure cooker lid, killing her on the spot.
After the murder, the couple stuffed the body into a red suitcase and hid it inside the storage compartment of their double bed in an attempt to conceal the crime, police said.
Concern grew when Deepshikha failed to return home late at night. Her domestic help, Minni, went to the tenants’ flat to check on her. Suspecting foul play, she searched the house and discovered the suitcase containing the body. Police were alerted around 11.15 pm, and a team reached the spot soon after, arresting both accused.
The victim’s body was sent for post-mortem examination. On Thursday, the accused were produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court, which remanded them to 14 days of judicial custody.
Deepshikha Sharma and her husband, Umesh Sharma, own two flats in the society, one of which had been rented out to the accused couple.