Married man murders live-in partner, sets house ablaze to stage fire accident

Upkar murdered Sarita, his live-in partner of six years who had separated from her husband, on October 25 in Rishi Colony, Civil Lines area. He then set the entire house on fire to make it appear as an accidental blaze, police reported.

Sonipat: A married businessman was arrested for stabbing his live-in partner and school-time love in Haryana’s Sonipat and setting her body on fire over a domestic dispute, police said on Sunday.

Upkar killed Sarita, who had been living with him for six years after separating from her husband, on October 25 in Rishi Colony in the Civil Lines area and burnt the entire house to give it the shape of a fire accident, police said.

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“Upkar’s wife was aware of his live-in relationship, while Sarita had divorced her husband whom she married in 2004. Both of them were living as ‘husband-wife’ for six years,” said Manish Kumar, Crime Unit, Ganaur.

Upkar, a resident of Vishnu Nagar, Yamunanagar, fell into the police net after the forensic examination of the body of Sarita, originally a resident of Punjab’s Zirakpur who was teaching in a college here, revealed murder due to stabbing before burns.

A court has granted Upkar’s custody to police for two days during which he will be questioned and taken to the crime scene, said an investigator.

The layers over the crime started coming off after Sarita’s brother from Punjab, Trishla, filed a complaint at Civil Lines police station in Sonipat.

In his complaint, Trishla said Sarita had divorced her husband, Kapil, with whom she had a daughter and started living with Upkar in Sonipat in 2018 but they often had disputes.

The victim’s brother alleged in his complaint that Sarita had told him that Upkar had called her on October 20 and demanded money.

Trishla’s complaint said that on October 25 he received a phone call from his sister who said that Upkar was trying to strangle her but the phone went silent soon after.

Later, Trishla received information that Sarita’s house caught fire the same night and she died in the blaze.