Man murders wife to claim insurance

NEW DELHI: A west Delhi street vendor strangled his 40-year-old wife in an empty compartment of a train with the motive of cashing in her insurance policy, the police said on Friday. He was arrested on Thursday

Abdul Hakim Ansari, 52, got his wife, Meshar Jahan, a life insurance policy three years ago at a monthly premium of ₹1,900, Dinesh Kumar Gupta, deputy commissioner of police (Railways), said.

“Ansari had got his wife insured with the intention of killing her and pocketing the money,” Gupta said.

The DCP said the exact amount Ansari hoped to get would be known only after verifying details with the insurance company, but another investigator said the man had hoped to receive over ₹50 lakh.

The police said by murdering his wife, Ansari hoped to kill two birds with one stone.

“Ansari claimed that he was fed up of his wife’s alleged abusive behaviour and refusal to cook for him. He had been planning the murder for the last six months,” the DCP said.

Ansari lives in west Delhi’s Uttam Nagar and sold wooden utensils to earn a living. Jahan was his third wife. Ansari’s first wife lives with their two children in his native village in Gorakhpur. He had divorced his second wife before marrying Jahan.

The officer said the couple had begun quarrelling soon after their wedding six years ago. “Jahan was allegedly abusive towards Ansari and the two children from his first marriage. Initially, he contemplated divorcing her, but gave up the plan after the insurance idea struck him,” another investigator said.

Ansari had allegedly planned to wait a few years before killing Jahan, but their frequent quarrels made him go forward with the plan.