Rajasthan man kills wife, tries to pass it off as accidental fall from stairs

A man in Rajasthan's Jhalawar district allegedly killed his wife in November last year, and tried to pass off the killing as an accidental fall from the stairs, police said on Tuesday.

The police have arrested the accused husband after forensic investigation of the crime scene and recreation of events pointed towards a murder, they added.

The accused, identified as Devkripal Meena (28) alias David, a resident of Chandpuri area under Aklera police station limits, was apprehended from Kota on Monday evening and produced before court on Tuesday that sent him to a seven-day police remand for interrogation, an official said, adding that efforts are underway to nab other accused in this connection.

The case pertains to the death of a 27-year-old woman, Renu alias Nimanta, in November 2025 at her in-laws' house in Chandipur village under Aklera police station limits, Jhalawar Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar said.

The in-laws claimed that the woman had died following an accidental fall from the stairs.

However, visible injury marks on the deceased body and inconsistencies at the scene raised suspicion, prompting police to lodge a murder on November 9 based on confidential inputs.

Subsequently, a detailed probe was taken up, and forensic and technical analysis was initiated.

The medical board conducting the post-mortem found as many as 19 injuries on the victim's body, concluding that the death was caused due to these injuries rather than an accidental fall.

Investigators also examined CCTV footage from a hotel where the accused husband and his nephew allegedly stayed on the night of the incident, and from the private hospital in Aklera where the victim was shifted after the alleged accident.

The footage confirmed that the accused had stayed at a hotel on the night of the incident and later transported the victim to a hospital early in the morning, where she was declared dead. The accused allegedly fled the scene afterward, abandoning the body.

A forensic team conducted crime scene reconstruction, which ruled out the possibility of death due to a fall. Evidence of struggle, blood stains, and broken items in the room further pointed towards a murder.

Police said the motive appears to be marital discord, with the accused husband allegedly involved in extramarital relationships which the victim opposed.

When the police tried to apprehend the accused in Kota on Saturday last week, he allegedly attempted to run over the police with a car and pelted stones at the team, following which Jhalawar police lodged an additional case of attempted murder and obstruction of government duty against Devkripal and two others with him in RK Puram police station.

The police initially detained the accused for breach of peace in Kota, and he was arrested in the murder case on Monday, investigating officer Harshraj Singh said on Tuesday, adding that efforts are underway to nab the other accused in the matter.

- Ends