Doctor strangles wife to death in MP's Sagar, sets car ablaze in chilling murder plot

Bhopal/Sagar, March 23 (IANS) In a shocking development, police in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, have arrested Dr Nilesh Kurmi (also known as Patel), a local doctor from Garhakota, along with two accomplices, Ramkrishna Patel and Shubham Patel, for the cold-blooded murder of his wife, Seema Kurmi.

The 38-year-old woman was found charred inside their car near Chanatoriya on the Sagar-Garhakota road around 4:00 a.m. on March 21. What was initially presented as a tragic accident has now been exposed through intense interrogation as a meticulously planned crime driven by marital discord and an extramarital affair.

Speaking to IANS, Lokesh Singh, additional superintendent (police), Sagar, said Nilesh confessed to his crime. He said he had strangled Seema at home after a late-night argument, then staged the scene by dousing her body with some incendiary substance, maybe petrol, and setting the vehicle ablaze in a remote spot, while he and his accomplices watched unscathed, the officer said.

The motive stemmed from frequent disputes over his relationship with a younger woman who visited his clinic, which Seema had discovered through photographs and suspicious late-night behaviour, ultimately leading him to eliminate her to conceal the evidence of strangulation that his medical expertise would have made impossible to hide in a hospital setting.

Seema lost consciousness and showed no signs of movement, prompting panic in the accused. Aware that taking her to a hospital would expose ligature marks on her neck and reveal the crime, especially given his medical knowledge, he devised a plan to destroy evidence, the officer said.

He called his tenants, Ramkrishna and Shubham Patel, claiming Seema had suffered a heart attack and needed to be rushed to the hospital. With their help, he placed her unresponsive body into the car, the officer further explained.

Their 11-year-old daughter woke up during this, and Nilesh told her that her mother was unwell and they were taking her for treatment, instructing her to lock the door from inside. The couple's 9-year-old son remained asleep in another room, while their eldest son stayed in a hostel. En route towards Sagar, Nilesh called Seema's father and brother-in-law to inform them of her deteriorating health. Around 4:00 a.m. near Chanatoriya, he pulled over in a secluded spot, poured some inflammable over his wife's body, and set the car on fire.

He and the two accomplices then stepped away and watched as the vehicle burned. The accomplices initially assisted in moving Seema without knowing the full truth, but witnessed the arson and failed to intervene or report it to the police.

Under intense questioning, they later confessed to their role in concealing the crime, the ASP said.

The motive traces back to Nilesh's extramarital affair with a young woman from a nearby village who frequently visited his clinic. Their relationship progressed through phone calls, and Seema grew suspicious due to his late nights and secretive conversations.

Police believe these conflicts drove him to plot her elimination. During early questioning, Dr Nilesh provided inconsistent statements, sometimes claiming an accident or a CNG kit explosion. However, crime scene evidence, including the disproportionate burning of Seema's body compared to the vehicle and lack of injuries to others, contradicted his versions.

His past BSF training was noted by police as contributing to his cunning approach in attempting to mislead investigators.

The Sanodha Police Station is handling the case, with further interrogation ongoing and the post-mortem report awaited to confirm strangulation as the cause of death before the burning.

--IANS

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