'Free from daily quarrels': Bhopal man who shot wife outside Gwalior Stadium shows no remorse calls murder a relief

BHOPAL: Arvind Parihar, the man who shot his wife dead in broad daylight outside Gwalior’s Roop Singh Cricket Stadium on September 12, showed no remorse, police said.Investigators reported that Arvind Parihar smiled during questioning and told officers he felt “free from daily quarrels” after the killing.

A police officer involved in the interrogation told TOI that Parihar even said he regretted only that she did not die in front of him and claimed he would have felt relieved if she had.Police stated that Parihar accused his wife Nandini Kewat of taking his money and cars while maintaining relationships with other men. Officers said the trigger was a video Nandini had posted four days earlier on Facebook, celebrating boyfriend Ankush Pathak’s birthday.

Investigators said seeing the video enraged him and pushed him over the edge.On the day of the murder, Nandini had visited the SP’s office with Ankush to complain against her husband. As they were returning, Parihar intercepted them near the stadium and fired five rounds from a .315 bore pistol. Four bullets struck Nandini. She was rushed to hospital but declared dead on arrival. Police said that even as Nandini lay injured, Arvind went live on Facebook holding his pistol and claimed his wife had filed false cases at the behest of her boyfriend.

Investigators said Parihar, a resident of Putthi village in Pichore, had met Nandini at a beauty parlour in 2022. They connected on social media, exchanged comments, and married in 2023, despite knowing each other’s past—Nandini was divorced, and Arvind was already married with two children. The marriage soured quickly, with both accusing each other of infidelity and publicly trading insults on social media.Police added that Arvind comes from a farming family with 60 bighas of land, two brothers, and a wife and children who live with his parents in Dabra.

He once attempted to contest a district panchayat seat but withdrew. After the murder, his first wife declined to comment.Nandini’s post-mortem was conducted on September 13. Her father Brijmohan Kewat initially refused to claim the body, saying her in-laws should take it, but Arvind’s family refused. Nandini’s friend Ankush offered to take the body, but police refused under protocol, handing it to her father after persuasion. Officials said Arvind remains in police remand until September 15 as investigations continue into his criminal history.