A man allegedly disguised himself as a monk (sadhu) and murdered his estranged wife with a hammer at her house in Delhi earlier this week, police said on Friday.
According to officials, the incident in Neb Sarai in south Delhi took place at around 12am on Wednesday and came to light hours later, when the woman, Kiran Jha, was found in a pool of blood by neighbours. The motive behind the murder could not be immediately ascertained.
Police said they received information about the incident at around 4am. "CCTV footage from the area showed the accused, Pramod Jha, leading Kiran's residence at around 12.50am. It appears that he escaped after committing the crime," one of the officials said.
A preliminary inquiry suggested that Pramod, originally from Bihar and believed to be around 55 years old, started living separately from his wife, a healthcare assistant, 10 years ago. It was just recently, on August 1, that he returned to Delhi from his village in Bihar's Munger district.
Kiran, the police said, used to live with her son Durgesh Jha, daughter-in-law Kamal Jha and their granddaughter. Durgesh works at a micro finance company in Bihar's Dharbhanga, and was not in Delhi when the murder took place.
A team from the Forensic Science Laboratory visited the spot for evidence collection. The hammer used for the murder has been recovered, officials said.
Several police teams have been formed and spread across railway and bus stations to trace the accused. "The motive behind the murder remains unclear. A detailed investigation is underway," the official said.
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
