Rajkot: A 22-year-old man allegedly strangled his wife and battered her head with a stone before leaving her body on railway tracks near Jetalsar in Rajkot district in an attempt to pass off the murder as a train accident.Virpur police registered an FIR against the accused, Dipak Shingar, for murder on Monday,According to the complaint filed by the victim’s father, Samir Bhuriya (40), his daughter Daxa (20) had married Dipak about six months ago. The couple worked as sharecroppers on a farm in Kagvad village of Jetpur taluka.Bhuriya told police that Daxa had confided in her family during a visit around Raksha Bandhan that her husband frequently consumed alcohol, assaulted her and suspected her character. Relatives had intervened and brokered a compromise, but the couple’s marital discord continued.Police said the murder allegedly occurred around midnight between Sunday and Monday after Dipak accused Daxa of speaking to another man on the phone. He allegedly strangled her and, believing her to be dead, carried her through agricultural fields to nearby railway tracks. When he realised she was still breathing, he allegedly struck her head repeatedly with a large stone before leaving her body on the tracks.The train driver spotted the body, stopped the train and alerted the police. The body was sent to Rajkot for a postmortem examination.Investigation officer Shailesh Rathod said police circulated photographs of the deceased in nearby villages and farms to establish her identity. The couple’s farm owner approached police after learning that a woman from the household was missing and helped identify her.“During questioning, the accused allegedly admitted to strangling his wife and inflicting head injuries. The forensic postmortem confirmed that she died due to strangulation and head injuries,” Rathod said.Police said Dipak had also allegedly confessed to the crime to his father, Pratap, before fleeing.
