LUCKNOW: Mohanlalganj police on Friday arrested a woman, her alleged lover and his aide for allegedly murdering her husband, concealing his body in a wooden box and dumping it under a canal bridge to destroy evidence.A 16-year-old boy, reportedly the woman’s son, has been taken into police protection, officers said.The accused were identified as Sufia Bano (35), her alleged lover Munna alias Muchhad (52) and Mohammad Iqbal alias Wasir Ahmed (40). Police said they have recovered the knife allegedly used in the murder and the e-rickshaw used to transport the body.The case came to light after Kavita Devi, the first wife of Ramkishore Valmiki, filed a complaint alleging he had been killed by Sufia and her associates. Ramkishore, the police said, had been in a relationship with Sufia for around four years and married her about two years ago.Investigators said tensions escalated when Ramkishore allegedly learnt about Sufia’s relationship with Munna, leading to frequent disputes. Police also said Sufia was upset over Ramkishore’s renewed contact with his first wife and the financial support he allegedly provided to her.According to the police version, the trio planned to kill Ramkishore. On the night of Sept 14-15, Sufia allegedly left the door unlatched, enabling Munna and Iqbal to enter the house. The two men allegedly stabbed Ramkishore to death while he was asleep.After the killing, police said, the accused cleaned the scene, concealed bloodstained articles and stuffed the body into a wooden box, which was kept under a bed. The teenager was later called to assist, investigators added.On the following night, the box was loaded onto an e-rickshaw and taken to Bhavakheda canal bridge in Kankaha, where it was dumped under the bridge.To crack the case, police tracked the e-rickshaw’s movement and reviewed footage from nearly 180 CCTV cameras on the suspected route. ADCP South Vasant Kumar said technical surveillance, fieldwork and local intelligence led to the arrests. The accused were produced in court, while investigators are corroborating statements with forensic results, CCTV clips and other evidence.
