Delhi man confesses to killing wife; blamed creditor threats to escape police

New Delhi: The husband of a 34-year-old woman was arrested for allegedly killing her and then trying to mislead police by claiming that she was killed by some moneylenders who were harassing him.

Priya Mehra was shot dead in the early hours on Wednesday in northwest Delhi's Shalimar Bagh area while she was returning from the Bangla Sahib Gurdwara with her husband and child, police said.

Her husband, Pankaj Mehra, had told the police that he had taken money on credit and was unable to return Rs 40 lakh, including the interest that had piled up.

He had claimed that the lenders had been threatening him and had asked him to return the amount with the interest.

Read: Delhi woman shot dead in front of husband, 1-yr-old son

The police found inconsistencies in his version of the incident and questioned him.

During an interrogation, Pankaj confessed to killing his wife, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northwest) Milind Dumbere said.

The police said that Pankaj thought he would be able to mislead them by claiming that the killing was the handiwork of some moneylenders who had been hreatening him.

Pankaj was married to another woman despite being married to Priya. He was inclined towards his other wife and thought of eliminating Priya, they said.

The police have taken him into custody to find the weapon he used to kill his wife.