A 22-year-old newlywed woman died under suspicious circumstances in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida, with her family alleging that she was murdered by her husband and in-laws for her property worth crores. The woman died barely three months after her marriage.
The woman, identified as Monika Nagar, had reportedly entered into a court marriage with Anuj Chauhan, on February 17 after the two were in a relationship. According to the victim’s family, Monika was “deceived into marriage” and later repeatedly pressured to transfer property in her name to her husband’s family.
Speaking to reporters, Monika’s relative Anil alleged that the harassment began within two months of the wedding. “They married her for money. She had property worth crores under her name and they kept torturing her to get it transferred,” he claimed.
The family alleged that Monika called them around 2 pm on Thursday and said that her husband Anuj and his family members were assaulting her. According to Anil, Monika told them that she was being threatened and asked to transfer land in their name “or they would kill her.”
After receiving the distress call, Monika’s mother immediately left for her daughter’s home and reached around 8 pm. The family claimed that by the time she arrived, a large crowd had gathered outside the Monica’s house.
“In the crowd, my mother saw Anuj placing Monica’s body inside a car,” Anil alleged. He claimed that the family followed the vehicle to a hospital, where doctors declared Monika dead. “When my mother tried to stop the car, they attacked her and then fled from the spot,” he alleged.
The family further claimed that they informed the police immediately after the incident. However, about an hour later, police allegedly informed them that Monika’s body had been burnt and the recovered remains had been sent for postmortem examination.
Anil also accused the police of failing to provide adequate assurance to the family. “We kept moving from one police station to another. The police neither handed over Monica’s body nor told us how badly she was burnt. All the accused are absconding,” he said.
The grieving family has appealed to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to ensure immediate arrests and strict action against the accused. They have also warned of a protest if their demands are not met. “If justice is not delivered, we will not take back the body and will sit on dharna,” Anil said.
Meanwhile, Dadri Police said Monika had been living with her mother in a rented house before marrying Anuj Chauhan through a court marriage. Police stated that both families were aware of and had agreed to the marriage. Police added that Monika had informed her brother that her husband and in-laws were assaulting her, following which her family reached the house and alleged that she had been killed.
Based on the complaint filed by the family, police said a case has been registered under relevant sections and teams have been formed to arrest the accused. According to police, efforts are underway to ensure arrests at the earliest.
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(Inputs by Arun Tyagi)