Woman found dead at Ludhiana home; husband missing

A 25-year-old woman was found dead at her home in Ludhiana's Salem Tabri area on Saturday, with police investigating the circumstances while her husband remains missing. The deceased was identified as Priya, who had been married to Akshay, 27, a salesman, for around five years, according to Hindustan Times. The couple have a four-year-old son.

Akshay was staying with his wife and son in a rented house in the Salem Tabri locality, as reported by The Tribune. On Friday night, a heated argument broke out between the couple over a domestic matter, and following this, the woman died by suicide by hanging herself, The Tribune reported, citing information available to it.

According to The Tribune, after the incident, Akshay locked the room from outside and kept the key near it. He took his son with him and left the child at his sister's house before fleeing. Before leaving, he called Priya's maternal family in Ferozepur, telling them that she had died by suicide by hanging herself, that he had taken the body down from the ceiling fan and placed it on the bed, and informed them of the location of the room's key over the phone. He then switched off his mobile and escaped.

Hindustan Times reported that Akshay called Priya's family, who live in Ferozepur, on Friday evening and told them that she had hanged herself at their house. He reportedly told them that he had brought her body down, locked the house and left the key near the gate before asking them to reach the residence. Akshay subsequently switched off his mobile phone and went missing.

Priya's family members reached the house, collected the key from the spot, found her body inside, and informed the police, according to both outlets. A police team arrived and sent the body to the Civil Hospital mortuary for autopsy, The Tribune reported.

Police response and investigation

Inspector Harshveer Singh, SHO of Salem Tabri police station, told Hindustan Times that the exact cause of death had not been established yet. "There are marks around the woman's neck which, prima facie, indicate hanging rather than strangulation. However, we will wait for the post-mortem report before reaching any conclusion," he said. Police said they were trying to trace Akshay and verify his account of the events, Hindustan Times added.

ADCP-1 Sameer Verma told The Tribune that a preliminary probe found that it could be a case of suicide not murder. He said inquest proceedings have been initiated and further action would be taken after the arrival of the autopsy report. The Tribune also reported that when its correspondent contacted SHO Harshvir Singh (spelling as per The Tribune), he said "I don't know what has happened and what proceedings are being initiated" before hanging up the phone.

The Tribune reported that preliminary inquiries suggest the couple frequently argued over petty issues and had a verbal altercation on Friday. Hindustan Times said preliminary inquiries suggest frequent arguments over petty issues and a verbal altercation on Friday, with Priya's family members and neighbours reportedly confirming the couple had frequent disputes.

Police are awaiting the post-mortem report to determine the cause of death.