Husband Hires Contract Killers To Murder Wife After She Discovered He Was Cheating: Police

A 36-year-old man in south Delhi, India, was arrested Saturday after allegedly hiring contract killers to murder his wife, police said.

Naveen Kumar Gullaiya allegedly decided to kill his wife, identified as Reena, with the help of hitmen after she discovered that he was having an affair with another woman, which had led to constant quarrels between them, Tribune India reported, citing Delhi police.

The incident took place Thursday in Sheikh Sarai area of Malviya Nagar in south Delhi.

Police learned of the incident after a hospital informed them that a woman with stab injuries brought there by her husband had been pronounced dead. The woman was stabbed at least 17 times, police said.

The woman's husband and two of the suspected contract killers, Rahul and Sonu, were arrested in the case two days later. Police are currently searching for Rahul's other associate, Chandu.

When questioned by police, Gullaiya initially told detectives that Reena was alone at their home Thursday afternoon as he and their son had gone to see a homeopathic doctor in the neighborhood of Defence Colony.

The husband claimed that he and their son did some shopping and that he later left their son at a barbershop near Shiv Mandir Bandh road before heading to his office at Kalkaji, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Benita Mary Jaiker said.

Gullaiya told police he asked one of his employees to drop his son at his home once he was done with his haircut. The husband said he got a call from his employee at 4:45 p.m. informing him that his wife Reena was lying in a pool of blood with stab injuries, the officer said.

Gullaiya said he immediately rushed to his house and brought his wife to the hospital, where she was declared dead, according to the officer.

During their investigation, however, police found CCTV footage showing two men entering the victim’s house in the morning and then three people exiting the home after some time. The three people's trail was traced up to Pamposh Enclave, Kalkaji.

The husband became a suspect when his call records were analyzed, and police found that he had been frequently calling a woman based in Govindpuri, Jaiker said.

The call records also revealed that Gullaiya received a WhatsApp call from one of the hired killers, Rahul. In addition, police recovered a mobile phone from Gullaiya’s car that showed he made several calls to Rahul and that Rs 50,000 ($673) was to be paid to Rahul as part of the payment once the “task” was completed, the officer said.

The victim's husband eventually confessed that he has been in a relationship with another woman, whose name was not disclosed, for the last one and a half years and that his wife came to know about the affair four months ago, Tribune India reported. Since then, Reena started arguing with Gullaiya and would often check his whereabouts through video calls, the husband claimed.

“This frustrated him so much that he decided to eliminate his wife and his girlfriend also gave her consent. He then hired Rahul and fixed a deal of Rs 5 lakh ($6,728) which would be given to him after completion of task through one of his acquaintances. Gullaiya also sent the location of his house to the contract killer,” the DCP stated.

According to the plan, Gullaiya left the house with his son to visit the homeopathic doctor Thursday while his wife was taking a rest. While leaving the home, Gullaiya locked the main gate door and gave the key to Rahul, who along with his associates Sonu and Chandu, entered the house and stabbed Reena 16 to 17 times, the officer said.

Rahul confessed to his involvement in the crime after being questioned by police, The Times of India reported. The knife used in the stabbing was also recovered.