Woman, lover kill father for opposing relationship; hide body in box

KANPUR: Police arrested Pooja and her lover late on Sunday night for allegedly killing her 55-year-old father, security guard Shyam Sundar Katheriya, and concealing his body in a box in a locked room at Kanshiram Colony in Etawah. Neighbours alerted police around 3pm on Sunday after a strong foul smell emerged from room number 216 on the first floor of Block 14 in TB Hospital Colony. Civil Lines police broke open the lock and found Katheriya’s decomposed body inside a box, wrapped in polythene and covered with three blankets. SSP Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said the body was several days old. Suspicion fell on Pooja, who lived with Katheriya, after she went missing. Police later arrested her and her lover. Srivastava said Katheriya had opposed their relationship. He worked as a guard at Shubham Hotel. SP City Babita Singh said police and a forensic team were collecting evidence. Prima facie, investigators suspected that the body had been placed in the box after the killing. The cause of death would be established through a post-mortem examination. Katheriya’s eldest daughter, Kajal, who lives in Bhikhanpur in Auraiya district, said she had last spoken to him five days earlier. His mobile phone was switched off when she called on Friday and Sunday. Neighbours later informed her that his body had been found. Kajal had expressed suspicion over Pooja’s role and alleged that she had been speaking to a man since before her marriage. She said their mother, Shashi Devi, had lived separately for about 10 years after a second marriage. Katheriya had three daughters: Kajal, Pooja and Khushi, who lives with their mother.