Legs Bent At Unusual Angle: Man Who Found Delhi Newlywed's Body, Called Cops

The death case of a newly-wed woman in Delhi under circumstances that have drawn suspicion of a murder conspiracy has acquired an even more sinister angle. The man who dialled the police first to inform about the case on July 4 in central Delhi's Lodhi Colony has shared with NDTV several questions that troubled him that day on finding the body of Akriti Sutar, 28.

Requesting anonymity, the man said Akriti's "legs were bent at an unusual angle". "I cannot reveal my face or identity due to security reasons," he said. "There was no trace of blood either."

Akriti was found dead after allegedly falling from the third floor of a building in the central Delhi neighbourhood. Her husband, Arastu Sikka, has been arrested on dowry death charges. The two got married in April after a two-year courtship.

"I made the PCR (police control room) call at 7.26 pm. This building is almost vacant. No one lives on the second or third floors," he said. "What is surprising is how she knew that hardly anyone lived here. How did she end up entering this particular building?" he said, adding even the terrace doors of most buildings remained locked.

"Out of so many towers, how did she know that the terrace door of this building was open? Either someone had conducted a recce of this place beforehand, or someone brought her there," the man said.

Akriti's younger brother, Amay Sutar, has alleged that her husband's family had agreed before the wedding that she would continue working. But soon after they got married, they allegedly changed their position and told her there had never been any word on letting her join a workplace, Amay said.

He alleged his sister was repeatedly taunted for not bringing enough household items from her parental home. "They would say she hadn't brought even basic things like a bed, sofa, wardrobe, fridge or air-conditioner," he said, adding Arastu's family "indirectly demanded" Rs 10-20 lakh.

Looking back, Amay said, it seemed his sister wanted to return to work to gradually put an end to the taunts she faced at her matrimonial home, and she hid much of the abuse until a day before her death, hoping that things would eventually improve.

Her father died in 2019. Instead of burdening her family, she hoped to deal with the problem herself.

"She told me, 'You have just become financially stable. Don't burden yourself. I will keep working and slowly manage everything myself. Maybe then they will stop saying these things'," Amay said.

Akriti had resumed work as a sales executive at a private firm in south Delhi's Chhatarpur on July 1 after taking a break for her wedding. She was found dead four days later.