india

Updated: May 21, 2019 09:08 IST

A week after a 19-year-old housemaid was found dead in her employer’s house in Panipat, police arrested the employer’s wife for murder. 

The accused has been identified as Mamta Wadhera, wife of textile mill owner Yogesh Wadhera, who has also been booked in the case. 

Police had initially suspected that the victim, identified as Pooja, had committed suicide but post-mortem revealed that she was choked to death.  The incident dates back to May 12 when the victim’s father received a call from Yogesh’s house, informing him that Pooja was found dead in her room. “ When we reached there, we saw that her body was lying on the floor and a scarf was tied around her neck,” the victim’s father, Angad Singh, told the police in his complaint. 

Angad also said that hours before her death, Pooja had called him and told him that Mamta was beating her. 

He added that earlier too, Mamta had beaten up his daughter over trivial matters.  Pooja had been working with the family for the past three years.  She was scheduled to get married in June. 

Based on Angad’s complaint and the post-mortem report, police have registered a case under Sections 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 3 of the SC/ST Act against Mamta and Yogesh. 

Panipat DSP Vijender Singh said Yogesh is yet to be arrested and police teams are conducting searches to nab him.  Mamta was arrested from the industrial area of Panipat on Sunday night.  On Monday, she was produced in court and sent to two-day police remand.