Oct 30, 2024 11:08 AM IST
The accused allegedly hit his wife, who he believed was having an affair, multiple times with an iron tool used for breaking stones at the Kotkhai orchard
Police have arrested a 25-year-old Nepalese farm labourer for allegedly bludgeoning his pregnant wife to death in Kotkhai of Shimla district.
The accused, Ramesh Roka of Nepal, allegedly hit his wife, Dhanmaya Roka, multiple times with an iron tool used for breaking stones. The accused had kept the body hidden in a shed at an apple orchard. He later fled along with his three-year-old child.
The couple used to work as farm labourers in Kotkhai and had come to the orchard only three months ago.
Police said the body had been lying in the house for three days. It was only after the body began decomposing that another labourer raised an alarm over the foul smell.
Police said the accused had hit his wife repeatedly with an iron tool (jhabal). He was arrested within four hours of the case being registered.
Police said the Nepali couple used to work in the apple orchard of Ramesh in Kotkhai Khaneti. He lived at the orchard with his wife and three-year-old child. Three days ago, there was an argument between the husband and wife after she had received a phone call. The police said the woman was pregnant and preliminary questioning has revealed that the accused believed that she was having an affair.
He was arrested from a Narkanda restaurant while trying to escape to Nepal.
The accused will be produced before the court on Wednesday.