MEERUT: A 30-year-old mason, whose death was initially treated as natural and whose body was buried, is now at the centre of a murder investigation after his family alleged that his wife and her lover strangled him in Lohia Nagar.Police have registered an FIR and sought the Meerut DM’s permission to exhume the body for a postmortem. Permission was granted and the body is scheduled to be exhumed on Tuesday.Mohd Talib, a native of Rasulpur-Dabheri in Muzaffarnagar, lived with his wife Ilma, 27, and their three-year-old daughter in a rented house in Zakir Colony. Ilma worked at a nearby beauty studio.Talib died on September 28. His cousin Mohd Akram said Ilma’s family informed them of his death and described it as natural. The family took the body to Muzaffarnagar, where it was buried on September 29.Relatives had photographed Talib’s body before the funeral and at the graveyard. Their suspicions grew after they alleged that Ilma began packing valuables from the house even before the burial. Neighbours also told the family that Ilma was close to Aman, who runs the beauty studio, and that the two were frequently seen together at a park and at her house.The family also asked for Talib’s phone, but Ilma allegedly said it was missing. A search on October 1 and 2 led to the phone being found hidden among clothes. The family said chats, call details and voice recordings between Ilma and Aman raised further suspicion.When relatives reviewed the photographs of Talib’s body, they noticed marks on his neck and suspected that he had been strangled with a dupatta.During questioning, Ilma allegedly told the family that Talib regularly assaulted her and had beaten her on September 28 as well. She allegedly said she called Aman to the house in anger. According to her alleged account, Aman arrived with a friend, and the two beat Talib before overpowering him with Ilma’s help. Aman then allegedly strangled Talib with Ilma’s dupatta.Ilma allegedly said Aman asked her to tell the family that Talib had suffered a heart attack and promised to marry her after her iddat. The family recorded the alleged confession on video, which has since gone viral. The video has not been independently verified.Akram subsequently filed a complaint at Lohia Nagar police station against Ilma and Aman. Station in-charge Sumit Tomar confirmed that a murder case had been registered.Kotwali CO Sangram Singh said Talib’s body had been buried in Muzaffarnagar and a report was sent to the DM seeking permission for exhumation. Ilma is under police watch, and further action will be taken after the postmortem report.
