BENGALURU: A long-running domestic quarrel and his wife’s failure to answer his phone calls allegedly culminated in murder when a 40-year-old man from Bihar killed his wife at their rented house in Bilekahalli on Sept 16, police said.After strangling her, the accused allegedly poured hot oil on her face in an attempt to disfigure her and make the death appear to be a suicide. However, discrepancies in his account led police to suspect foul play.The deceased has been identified as Gunja Maddheshiya, 38, a homemaker, while her husband, Ranjit Kumar Gupta, has been arrested.According to preliminary investigation, the couple had quarrelled frequently over trivial issues for the past three months. Around 9.30am on Sept 16, Ranjit left for work but returned shortly after and picked another quarrel with Gunja. Both their children had left for school by then. “He assaulted and killed her… Ranjit sat behind her on the floor, put a dupatta around her neck, and strangled her to death,” a senior officer said.Around 3pm, Ranjit allegedly returned home, heated cooking oil and poured it on Gunja’s face to disfigure her. However, her face was not completely burnt. He then closed the door and left for work. Later in the evening, he returned, pretended to be shocked by her death and alerted neighbours, claiming that Gunja had died by suicide.The house owner learnt about the death around 8pm and told police about the couple’s frequent quarrels. When police inspected the house, Ranjit repeated that his wife had committed suicide. However, police inspector Nataraj DN and his team noticed discrepancies in his account and behaviour. He was detained and questioned.During questioning, Ranjit allegedly confessed to the crime. He told investigators that he had brought Gunja and their two children from his native place 18 months ago. Their disputes intensified in recent months and Gunja had failed to answer his calls a couple of times, he allegedly told police.The couple’s son and daughter have been sent to stay with relatives. Ranjit has been remanded in judicial custody.
