Pills in kheer, body under bathroom tiles: How Agra woman covered up husband's murder for weeks before getting caught

POlice feature arrested a 40-year-old adult female in Uttar Pradesh for cleanup her married man. Ruby Sharma, from Agra, allegedly inhumed her husband Surendra's body beneath the bathroom floor of their home and continued to live there for weeks while pretending he had gone missing.Police blew the cover off the crime while investigating the disappearance of the 44-year-old. They found inconsistencies in the family's statements and noticed suspicious ATM withdrawals, HT reported earlier.ALSO READ | Agra woman arrested for allegedly killing husband, burying body beneath washroom floorTheir investigation led them to the bathroom of the couple's house in Renuka Dham Colony in Agra's Dehtora. They dug up the floor and found remains believed to be Surendra's.Officials have sent the remains for a post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.The caseA missing person complaint regarding Surendra Sharma was registered at Sikandra Police Station on May 26, ACP Hariparvat Ameesha said."During the investigation, police found that his wife had killed him and buried the body in their house, covering it with concrete plaster. Legal action followed, the police broke the floor and recovered the body. After completing the inquest proceedings, the body was sent for post-mortem. The accused, Ruby Sharma, is in custody and being interrogated, with further legal steps underway," the officer told ANI. During interrogation, Ruby allegedly confessed to the killing.Alleged abuse, alcoholismSurendra Sharma had been unemployed for some time and was an alcoholic, police said. Investigators say he frequently demanded money from his wife to fund his drinking and allegedly beat her when she refused.The couple often fought, a neighbour told PTI.The couple had been married for around 16 years and had two daughters. Their primary source of income was the pension of Surendra's late father, which was shared between Surendra and his brother, Anil Sharma.Police believe he was murdered on May 18.ALSO READ | Missing brain, heart, intestines, wrong name of wife: Mystery over Indian seafarer Rakesh Chauhan's death in VenezuelaHusband drugged firstInvestigators reportedly found that Ruby first mixed a huge amount of sleeping pills into a bowl of kheer and served it to her husband.The couple's daughters did not suspect anything unusual when they saw their father lying motionless on the bed, as they were accustomed to seeing him sleep for long hours after drinking alcohol.Police believe Ruby killed Surendra after he lost consciousness. That said, investigators are awaiting the post-mortem report to determine the exact cause of death.The next morning, Ruby allegedly dropped her two daughters at the house of Surendra's brother before returning home alone.Body buried beneath bathroom floorPolice allege that Ruby then dug a pit in the bathroom of the house, buried her husband's body beneath the floor, and sealed the grave with concrete before laying fresh tiles over it to conceal the crime.Missing complaintFollowing his disappearance, Surendra's brother, Anil, filed a missing person's complaint. Police continued searching for Surendra for nearly 45 days.Ruby also approached police and reported that her husband was missing, helping sustain the impression that he had simply disappeared.ATM withdrawals exposed crimeAnil later noticed suspicious activity in the family's bank account. Surendra had been carrying the ATM card linked to the account into which the family's pension was deposited. Even after he was reported missing, cash continued to be withdrawn from the account, HT reported earlier. Anil then called the cops again.Police find buried skeletonPolice began examining the family's statements more closely and eventually focused their search on the house. When officers broke open the newly tiled bathroom floor, they recovered a skeleton buried beneath the concrete.Police looking for possible accomplicesDeputy commissioner of police Syed Ali Abbas said investigators were still trying to find whether Ruby acted alone.He added that burying a body beneath the floor would have been difficult for one person, and police are investigating whether anyone else helped commit the murder or dispose of the body."It appears a tough task for a woman alone to get the man killed and get the body buried in the house itself. For now, we are still looking for linkages about anyone other than the woman involved in the crime," he said.(With inputs from correspondents and agencies)