UP engineer held for murder of maid's mother over illicit affair

Shahjahanpur, Oct 19 (IANS) A government engineer and his partner in Uttar Pradesh's Shahjahanpur have been arrested for the murder of a 65-year-old woman, who was found dead in her residence three months ago, the police said.

Rambeti, the victim, had been residing in a servant quarter within the DM compound for the past 12 years, along with her three children: daughters Pushpa and Rinki, as well as her son Mukesh Lal. They all worked as house helps in the homes of local officials in the vicinity.

On July 27, Rambeti's blood-stained body was discovered inside her house.

After the initial investigation, police did not find any evidence so the crime branch team was deployed. A complaint had been lodged against PWD assistant engineer Rakesh Kumar by his wife, alleging an extramarital affair between him and their maid, Pushpa.

Subsequently, the crime branch collaborated with a surveillance team and ascertained that Pushpa was present in the house at the time of the murder. She was then detained as a suspect and during questioning, she confessed to the crime.

Additional Superintendent of Police, Sudhir Jaiswal, said, "Pushpa was employed as a maidservant in the house of engineer Rakesh Kumar, who lived alone. His wife and seven-year-old son were living in their native village in Bulandshahr. We have gathered evidence against both accused parties and have booked them under IPC section 302 (murder). They have been arrested.”