Lucknow cop beats wife to death with rod, in-laws find him sitting next to body

An Uttar Pradesh Police constable in Lucknow allegedly killed his wife by hitting her on the head with an iron rod during a domestic dispute. The accused, identified as head constable Himanshu Srivastava, was detained by the police following the incident.

The murder took place in his rented accommodation, where he and his family had been living for around two-and-a-half years. He is originally from Ayodhya and was posted at the Right to Information (RTI) cell office in Lucknow.

Himanshu and his wife, Rashmi, 40, had an argument on Sunday over some issue. The argument turned violent, and he allegedly struck his wife on the head with an iron rod, causing severe bleeding.

After the murder, Himanshu sat with the landlord for quite some time and later took his one-year-old son in his arms and walked outside for around three hours. He then returned to his house and sat near his wife's body.

Rashmi's brother, Saurabh Srivastava, became worried about her safety after she repeatedly failed to answer her phone and reached the house with family members.

He said they found her lying in a pool of blood near the kitchen and that she had already died. Himanshu was allegedly present inside the house but did not give a clear response when questioned.

The family subsequently informed the police, following which the accused was taken into custody.

Rashmi's brother alleged that Himanshu had been harassing her since their marriage in 2015 and had repeatedly escaped consequences because he was employed in the police department.

He also claimed that the accused had previously tried to kill her by strangling her with a towel.

According to the victim's family, she had continued to endure the alleged harassment to protect her marriage.

Her father said she had sent a message on the day of Janmashtami saying that everything was fine, and the family had no indication that such an incident would take place.