Madhya Pradesh sub-divisional magistrate allegedly smothered to death by husband
The family of the deceased sub-divisional officer Nisha Napit alleged that her husband used to harass her for money
The Madhya Pradesh police on Monday arrested the husband of a sub-divisonal magistrate (SDM) on charges of murdering her following a complaint by the victim’s sister, police said.
SDM Nisha Napit, 38, who was posted in Shahpura in Dindori, was allegedly suffocated to death on Sunday by her husband Manish Sharma, 45, resident of Gwalior by using a pillow. To hide the evidence, Sharma even washed and dried the clothes in the washing machine after the incident, said Akhil Patel, superintendent of police (SP).
Her husband Manish Sharma told police that Napit was fasting on Sunday and she felt ill after consuming a guava. Her nose was bleeding and when he took her to the hospital, she died of cardiac arrest, he told police.
However, police officers, who were initially treating it as a natural death, suspected that the cause of death was not natural after the body of the SDM turned blue. Doctor Ratnesh Dwivedi, who conducted the postmortem, said that SDM Nisha Napit was brought to the hospital four to five hours after her death.
“After our suspicion, the doctor told us that SDM was brought to the hospital four to five hours after her death. Police immediately sealed the house and FSL (forensic science laboratory) team collected the evidence. Manish Sharma had cleaned the clothes and pillow covers after the death of the SDM,” the SP said.
Police said during interrogation, Manish Sharma reportedly confessed to his crime. The couple had been fighting as the SDM had not added Sharma’s name as nominee in the service book and bank accounts. Police arrested him under Section 302 (murder) of IPC on Monday.
SDM’s sister Neelima said, “Nisha got married to Manish Sharma, who is a resident of Gwalior and worked as a property dealer, after meeting on a matrimonial site in 2020. There was a lot of disputes between the two even during her posting in Mandla. The then SP had given advice to both of them. Manish used to harass Nisha for money.”