Days after marriage, woman found dead in locked room in Delhi; husband absconding

NEW DELHI: Barely a week after her marriage, a 28-year-old woman was allegedly murdered in central Delhi's Nabi Karim area, with her decomposed body found in a locked rented room after neighbours complained of a foul smell, police said on Monday.

The suspect, her husband, Mohammad Ejaz, 39, a resident of Vaishali district in Bihar, has been absconding since May 2. Police teams have been sent to Bihar to trace him.

Police have identified the deceased as Nisha Parveen, a resident of Haldwani in Uttarakhand.

A PCR call was received at Nabi Karim police station on the night of May 8 from the landlord of a house in Laxmanpuri, reporting a strong stench coming from a tenant's room. The landlord said the tenant had not been seen for days, police said.

A team broke open the locked room and found the woman's decomposed body lying on the bed.

"Nisha got married to Ejaz on April 26. Ejaz worked at a bag-manufacturing unit in the Nabi Karim area and lived in the rented room at Laxmanpuri," a senior police officer said.

According to investigators, Ejaz brought Nisha to Delhi from Haldwani on April 29. Her family later alleged that soon after arriving in Delhi, she was harassed and assaulted over dowry demands. Police said Nisha had informed her family about the alleged abuse.

Investigators suspect that after an altercation on May 2, Ejaz killed his wife, locked the room and fled. "The landlord asked Ejaz about his departure, to which he replied that he was travelling to Uttarakhand for work. The room remained locked for days, with the fan still running, as the smell gradually grew stronger," said a police source.

Neighbours told police they noticed the room remained locked from May 2 and initially believed a dead animal was causing the stench. When the smell worsened and the tenant remained untraceable, police were alerted.

The body has been sent for post-mortem. While police suspect strangulation, the exact cause of death will be confirmed after the autopsy report.

During the investigation, Nisha's father accused Ejaz and his family of dowry harassment before the tehsildar. Police have registered a case under sections of BNS for murder and dowry death.

Police have arrested Ejaz's elder brother, Sarfaraz, from Gurgaon in connection with the dowry harassment allegations. Raids are underway to apprehend the absconding husband.

Further investigation is in progress.