Sharing drinks with female relative led to Rohit's murder

In an unfortunate incident, son of Congress stalwart ND Tiwari got killed after he confessed to his wife that he shared a drink with his female relative. The deceased was reportedly on his way back to Delhi after casting his vote in Uttarakhand. Apoorva, the wife of the deceased has been arrested after the circumstantial evidence pointed towards her role in the murder. She allegedly killed him after an argument which turned violent during the night after he returned from Delhi.

New Delhi:Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, son of Congress stalwart ND Tiwari, was murdered after he confessed to his wife Apoorva Shukla that he was sharing the glass with a female relative whom she hated, the police said on Wednesday.

"When Apoorva video called Rohit, she saw him drinking while he was on his way back to Delhi after casting his vote in Uttarakhand. After he came back, as he was drunk he told her that he drank with a woman relative in the same glass," a senior police official familiar with the case told media.

"As she hated the relative and could not notice her during the video call, a scuffle broke out between the couple in the bedroom. When she couldn't control her anger, she allegedly suffocated him to death," he added.

Apoorva, the wife of Rohit Shekhar Tiwari, son of Congress stalwart, was arrested in the murder case of her husband on Wednesday morning and was sent to two days police custody by the Saket Court.

"She has been arrested after the circumstantial evidence pointed towards her role," the police said.

"In an attempt to mislead the investigators, she said that the strangulation marks on Rohit's neck came up while the couple was sharing some intimate moments. In another attempt, she first claimed that she was in the room till 3 am but when the post-mortem examination report clarified the time of death to be around 1 am, she changed her statement," officials said.

The Crime Branch of Delhi police on Sunday had taken her, one maid and a servant to an undisclosed location for interrogation in connection with Shekhar's death.

"After four days of continuous grilling, Apoorva confessed that she killed her husband by suffocating and smothering him. The marital relationship between the duo had got bitter since the beginning. She killed him after an argument which turned violent during the night," said Additional Commissioner of Police (Addl CP), Crime, Rajiv Ranjan while addressing a press conference.

Ranjan also added that the police got information from Max Hospital that Rohit had been brought dead, following which an inquiry was launched.

"The post-mortem examination of the deceased was conducted by a team of five doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), which revealed that the death occurred at around 1 am at night and he died due to strangulation and smothering," said Ranjan.

A case of murder (Section 302 of Indian Penal Code) was registered on Thursday after the post mortem examination report revealed that Rohit died an "unnatural death." Following the revelations, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch.

A team of the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) had also reached the Defence Colony residence of Rohit and recreated the crime scene and collected evidence in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind the death of veteran Congress leader's son.

Sources revealed that Rohit's main servant Bhupendra alias Bholu, who is said to be a close aide of the deceased, was quizzed several times by the investigators.

"Till now the statement of three servants have been recorded," said sources.

Testimonies of Tiwari's servants and the CCTV footage in the case revealed that Rohit came to his house on April 15 in an inebriated condition and straight away went to his room and slept.

"There were seven CCTV cameras in the house of which two were not in working condition," sources said.

Rohit slept during the night of April 15 and was found mysteriously dead at 4 pm next day, but it is shocking to note that no one went to wake him up between the said time span.

Rohit had fought a long battle in court to prove that he was the son of the stalwart Congress leader ND Tiwari. The former chief minister had refused to give his blood sample for a DNA test in 2012, but the same was proven two years later.