Man Allegedly Murders Wife To Marry Her Younger Sister, Slits Her Throat

The husband of a woman who was found dead with her throat slit in India's Uttar Pradesh state last week has been arrested after police found out he was having an extramarital affair with the victim's younger sister and wanted to marry her.

Atar Singh was arrested in connection with the death of his wife, Jogendra Devi, whose body was discovered in a cornfield outside the village of Madala Fatehpur on June 10, The Times of India first reported, citing police.

Authorities, while investigating Devi's death, discovered that Singh was allegedly in a relationship with his wife's younger sister and wished to marry her. He had initially reported Devi's appearance to police in the nearby village of Asmoli, claiming that he had gone to another village with his mother to meet with relatives when his wife was murdered.

"The accused himself was a complainant in this case but we suspected him from the beginning," police superintendent for Sambhal district Chakresh Mishra was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

He added that the weapon allegedly used to slit Devi's throat — a sickle — had been recovered.

According to police, Singh believed that his in-laws would not refuse his proposal to marry Devi's younger sister after his wife's death.

A similar incident happened in Pakistan's Punjab province in January 2019 when a man tortured his pregnant wife to death so he could marry his sister-in-law.

Tahir Mahmood murdered his wife, Salma Bibi, in the city of Pakpattan on Jan. 25, 2019, after the latter refused to give Mahmood permission to marry her sister, Aiman Bibi. Mahmood and Aiman reportedly developed a relationship a few months after he and Salma married in 2016.

Prior to the killing, police said Mahmood had sought permission for the marriage from his wife several times but was turned down.

Mahmood reportedly become enraged and was in a heated argument with Salma, who was two months pregnant at the time, over the issue. He and Aiman then tortured Salma to death before they both fled the scene.