- An eight-month pregnant woman was killed by her husband in Mahoba, Uttar Pradesh
- The accused, Hanif Mansoori, struck her with a sickle during an argument while intoxicated
- Mansoori was arrested after trying to mislead police but was identified by his son’s statement
In a horiffic incident from Uttar Pradesh's Mahoba, an eight-month pregnant woman was killed with a sickle by her alcoholic husband in front of their children, aged five and two, during an argument between the couple.
The accused, Hanif Mansoori, has been arrested by police based on the 5-year-old's statement, while the victim Manisha's body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
The incident happened in Bijrari village, under the Panwari police station area in Mahoba.
According to officials, the accused was severely addicted to alcohol and gambling and had already sold most of his land to fund his addictions. On Saturday night, when he returned home severely intoxicated, his wife Manisha tried to stop him from consuming more alcohol.
This led to a heated argument and Mansoori grabbed a sickle, repeatedly striking his pregnant wife and killing her.
The incident was witnessed by their son, 5, and daughter, 2.
To avoid suspicions, Mansoori himself called the police to the location and attempted to fabricate a false story. However, his traumatised five-year-old son provided an eyewitness testimony to police. Following this, Panwari Station House Officer (SHO) Praveen Kumar interrogated the accused and made the arrest.
Meanwhile, the family of the victim has accused Mansoori of being suspicious by nature. According to her brother Naseem Mansoori, the accused would physically abuse Manisha over trivial matters.
Naseer further said that the accused had even thrown her sister out of the house on several occasions, leading to police involvement. However, she would always return for the sake of keeping the family together.
"He brutally murdered my sister using a sickle while intoxicated. My sister got married in 2021, she had two small children and was eight months pregnant. I demand the strictest possible punishment for the accused," he told NDTV.
The accused's brother-in-law Shakir said that the family had tried to reason with him multiple times, but all of that went in vain. He noted that Mansoori had hit her in the body, head and hands multiple times with the sickle as he killed her.
Mansoori's father, who claimed that he was thrown out of his house by his son four years ago, demanded the strictest punishment for the accused.
"My son has committed a grave crime. He deserves severe punishment for his actions, even if it means the death penalty," he said, adding that he would raise the children on his own.
Kulpahar Circle Officer Anirudh Singh said that strict legal action against the accused is being taken and further probe into the incident is ongoing.
(With inputs from Irfan Khan Pathan)
