Jaipur: Police here Tuesday arrested a 20-year-old man for allegedly strangling his pregnant live-in partner and burying her body in the courtyard of their rented house in Prestige Garden Colony, Bindayaka.DCP (West) Prashant Kiran identified the accused as Pravesh Kumar alias Haggu. Police said he allegedly killed Kiran Rawat on Sept 23 after suspecting her of having an affair with another man. The two were related as nephew and aunt and had been living together as partners.The murder came to light on Sept 27 when the house owner found Kiran’s body buried in the courtyard. Police said Kumar had poured about two kilograms of salt over the body before digging a pit and burying her.During questioning, Kumar told police that he strangled Kiran with one hand and covered her nose and mouth with a cloth with the other. He initially tried to mislead investigators by claiming that Kiran had died by suicide and that he buried her body after panicking, police said.Kumar and Kiran had come to Jaipur from their village about two months ago. Kiran was pregnant and Kumar was living with her and taking care of her. The two used the same mobile phone. Kumar worked odd jobs to support them, police said.After the murder, Kumar allegedly switched off the phone and went to Samod on foot to visit the Hanuman temple.Police said he told them he went there to “wash away his sins”. He returned to work and stayed there from Sept 24 to 26.On Sept 27, after suspecting that the murder had been discovered, Kumar allegedly collected Rs 500 in wages from the factory owner and fled Jaipur.Police teams began searching for him after recovering Kiran’s body. Investigators examined CCTV footage, analysed technical evidence and prepared a route chart to track his movements.A police team eventually detained him on Agra-Lucknow Expressway and arrested him after questioning.Kumar is a resident of Parsa Auliya Lalpur village under Safdarganj police station in Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh.
