A 37-year-old Lucknow-based businessman allegedly killed his wife in front of his two children on Saturday morning, 12 August. According to the Lucknow police, the man killed his wife in his SUV on Purvanchal Expressway in Sultanpur out of jealousy and a deep-seated “inferiority complex” over his wife’s substantial Instagram following.
The couple had been married for nearly 15 years and had two children aged 12 years and 5 years. Their children were present when the horrific incident unfolded.
The Lucknow police took to X (formally Twitter) to inform about the crime. They said that the incident happened under the Gosiaganj police station limits. The couple had a dispute over something for long. On the day of the incident, the fight escalated, after which the husband Suraj Pal strangulated his wife Mamata Pal with her saree and hid the body in the bushes nearby. The accused was arrested.
थाना गोसाईगंज क्षेत्रान्तर्गत महिला की हत्या के संबंध में अपर पुलिस उपायुक्त दक्षिणी द्वारा दी गई बाईट। @Uppolice pic.twitter.com/fdHSqH6z2I
— LUCKNOW POLICE (@lkopolice) August 12, 2023
As per a TOI report, Kurebhar SHO Praveen Kumar Yadav said, “The accused owns a tour and travel agency while his wife was a homemaker. The couple lived in the Para locality of Lucknow with their 12-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son.”
The accused allegedly killed his wife in a fit of rage after they had an argument over Instagram followers. Reportedly, the accused suspected that in his absence, some of his wife’s social media followers were visiting her and it had led to many arguments between the couple.
It is being claimed that his “insecurity” and “inferiority complex” were aggravated when his wife reportedly blocked him from her social media account and this could have eventually pushed him to commit this horrific crime, the TOI report pointed out citing police officials.
The authorities will examine the victim’s Instagram account which is currently locked and private.
The police officials stated the whole sequence of events that ultimately culminated in the victim’s death. As per the police officials, the family started off in their SUV for Rae Bareli, but at around 5 am, they took a diversion to Purvanchal Expressway where the crime occurred.
Subsequently, the accused man halted near Mujesh intersection in Sultanpur, where the couple got engaged in a heated argument. The officials stated that in a fit of rage, the accused husband strangled his wife to death while his children were present in the SUV and witnessed the crime in horror. Following the incident, the accused man locked himself inside the SUV.
In the meantime, a patrolling unit from UPEIDA observed a vehicle that was parked in a suspicious manner. Afterwards, they immediately alerted the nearest police station.
The couple’s distressed daughter, who was continuously crying in shock, narrated the entire incident to the police. Subsequently, based on the testimony of the couple’s daughter, police arrested the accused man.
