Patna: Police in Patna have said a man shot his wife to death with the help of a friend after she refused to give him Rs 26 lakh earned from the sale of land, in a case that has shocked the Jani Pur area of the city.
The victim, Mala Devi, had recently sold a piece of land for Rs 26 lakh. According to the city’s west superintendent of police, Bhanu Pratap Singh, her husband, Subodh Sharma, demanded the money from her, but she refused. Police said this, along with his suspicion that she had relationships with other men, led to frequent disputes between the couple and eventually to the murder.
Investigators said Sharma planned the killing and took the help of his friend, Kunal Kishore. He allegedly called Mala Devi from Jehanabad to Patna on the pretext of showing her a plot of land. On the night of January 11, she was shot dead near Gajachak village in the Jani Pur police station area.
Police said Sharma paid Kishore Rs 2.5 lakh for assisting in the crime. Both men have now been arrested.
Bhanu Pratap Singh described the case as a “blind murder” initially, as there were no CCTV cameras near the crime scene. “The investigation was challenging, but we used technical surveillance and closely examined the statements of those involved,” he said.
Suspicion grew when Sharma repeatedly changed his version of events and gave inconsistent answers during questioning. After being taken into custody and interrogated more strictly, he confessed and revealed the details of the crime, police said.
Officers are now searching for the weapon used in the murder and continuing their investigation to collect further evidence. The case has caused widespread shock and anger in the area, highlighting once again how financial disputes and domestic conflict can escalate into extreme violence.
