Body Of Agra Man Missing For 45 Days Found Buried Beneath Washroom Wife Detained

A 40-year-old woman was detained by the police on Friday for allegedly murdering her husband, burying his body beneath the washroom floor of their house in Agra, and continuing to live there as if nothing had happened.

The gruesome crime came to light when inconsistencies in a missing person report, and suspicious ATM withdrawals, led police to search the family’s residence in the Renuka Dham colony of the Dehtora locality. Beneath a set of newly laid washroom tiles, cops found the decomposed remains of the victim, Surendra Sharma, 44.

According to police, Surendra Sharma was unemployed and struggled with alcoholism. He frequently assaulted his wife, Ruby Sharma, over demands for money to fund his drinking habit. The couple, married for 16 years, had two daughters and relied financially on the pension of Surendra’s late father, which was shared between Surendra and his brother, Anil Sharma.

“Surendra Sharma was killed on May 18. Eight days later, his wife, Ruby Sharma lodged a complaint stating that her husband was missing,” said Syed Ali Abbas, DCP, Agra Police Commissionerate.

“The floor of the washroom was dug up and remains of Surendra Sharma’s body were found and sent for post-mortem examination. Ruby Sharma has been taken into custody and being interrogated to find aspects related to the crime and to know if anyone else was also involved,” he said.

Police investigations reveal that on May 18, apparently pushed to the brink by the abuse, Ruby allegedly laced a bowl of ‘kheer’ (sweet rice pudding) with an overdose of sleeping pills.

Upon returning to the residence, Ruby allegedly excavated the washroom floor, buried her husband’s body, and plastered the area. She then laid new tiles over the surface to eliminate any evidence of the crime.

For days, she continued to live a normal life, using the very same washroom and pretending to await her husband’s return. Eight days after the murder, she approached the Sikandra police station to lodge a formal missing person complaint.

The cover-up began to unravel due to the vigilance of the victim’s brother. Surendra had kept the ATM card linked to the bank account where their father’s pension was credited. When Anil Sharma noticed that cash was still being withdrawn from the account despite his brother’s alleged disappearance, he immediately alerted the authorities.

“It appears a tough task for a woman alone to get the man killed and get the body buried in the house itself. For now, we are still looking for linkages about anyone other than the woman involved in the crime,” said Abbas.