Agra Woman Kills Husband, Buries Body Beneath Bathroom Floor, Conceals Crime For 45 Days

Agra: In a chilling case that bears similarities to the plot of the film Drishyam, a woman in Agra allegedly killed her husband, buried his body beneath the bathroom floor and covered it with a fresh layer of cement and tiles to conceal the crime for nearly one-and-a-half months.

The accused, identified as Ruby, was arrested after she confessed to killing her husband Surendra, 44, in Sikandra's Dahtora area. Police said the woman had been planning the murder for several days as she was allegedly fed up with her husband's alcoholism, violent behaviour and frequent domestic disputes.

According to investigators, Surendra had recently quit his job as a delivery agent and spent most of his time drinking. Ruby told police that he regularly assaulted her for money and had also begun misbehaving with their daughters, prompting her to plan his murder.

Police said Ruby mixed more than 20 sleeping pills into a bowl of kheer on the night of May 17 after Surendra returned home, consumed alcohol and ate meat. Since he was fond of sweets, he ate the kheer and soon fell unconscious.

In her statement to police, Ruby said she woke up around 3 am and checked whether her husband was breathing. After confirming that he was dead, she sent her mother-in-law and two daughters away the next morning on the pretext that Surendra had left home after a dispute.

Investigators said Ruby had already arranged construction debris after noticing renovation work at a neighbouring house. She dug up the bathroom floor with a shovel, dragged the body inside and buried it in the pit. She also allegedly poured salt over the body in an attempt to hasten decomposition.

She then filled the pit with debris, levelled the floor and later purchased cement, sand and other materials herself. On May 19, she hired two labourers, who were unaware of the crime, to lay a new floor and install fresh tiles in the bathroom for Rs 500.

To avoid suspicion, Ruby filed a missing person's complaint for her husband at Prachi Tower police outpost on May 26 and repeatedly claimed that Surendra had left home with Rs 3,000. Police visited the house during the search and checked CCTV footage, while Ruby allegedly broke down in tears whenever investigators arrived.

The crime came to light on Wednesday when police reached the house for verification in connection with an old truck theft case registered against Surendra in 2017. During questioning, Ruby appeared nervous and feared that someone had informed police about the murder.

On Friday, she called her brother-in-law Anil and confessed that she had killed Surendra and buried his body beneath the bathroom floor. Anil immediately informed the police.

A police team then dug up the bathroom floor and recovered Surendra's skeletal remains. Ruby was taken into custody and charged with murder and destruction of evidence.

Police also questioned the labourers who had laid the bathroom floor, suspecting that others might have been involved. However, the workers told investigators that they had no knowledge that a body was buried beneath the floor and were later let off after questioning.

Investigators said Ruby admitted during interrogation that she had watched films and web series and drew inspiration from crime plots while planning the murder and concealing the body.