Meerut woman strangled, hit with brick; husband’s other wife among 3 held

MEERUT: Three people, including a woman's husband's other wife, for allegedly murdering the 25-year-old woman in UP's Meerut district, officials said on Saturday.The vehicle allegedly used to transport the victim before her murder has also been recovered.On August 19, when police found the body of an unidentified woman in a sugarcane field within the Sardhana police station limits. The body was sent for a post-mortem examination while police began efforts to establish her identity.Photographs of the deceased were circulated on social media, including WhatsApp and Facebook. On August 21, Junaid approached police and identified the woman as his sister, Sheeba.Acting on his complaint, police registered a case against five people at Sardhana police station for murder and other offences.Police said Sheeba was married to Sadiq, who had earlier been married to Asiya. Sadiq and Asiya have five daughters but no son. According to investigators, Sadiq married Sheeba in the hope of having a male child, and the couple later had a son who is around 18 months old.Police suspect that the dispute intensified after the birth of the boy. Asiya allegedly wanted the child to remain with her and is accused of pressuring Sadiq to get rid of Sheeba.Investigators said the accused allegedly called Sheeba out on the pretext of going for a drive. She was then taken in a car, where she was allegedly attacked.According to police, Sadiq allegedly strangled Sheeba before she was repeatedly assaulted and hit on the head with a brick, resulting in her death.Sadiq's mother Vasila, brother Shadab, another brother and Asiya were allegedly present in the car when the incident took place, police said.The accused allegedly transported Sheeba's body to a sugarcane field along the Kushavali-Salawa road and abandoned it there.Following an investigation, police and the SWAT team arrested Shadab, Asiya and Vasila on Saturday.Police said raids were being conducted to apprehend Sadiq and his other brother, who have not yet been arrested and are currently on the run.