‘She is in Tihar jail’: How drunk boast ‘I killed my wife’ cracked 15-month-old ‘lady don’ murder mystery

JAIPUR: A boast made after a drinking session to an acquaintance about killing his wife and hiding her body eventually travelled to police, helping crack a 15-month-old disappearance case of a “lady don” in Jaipur.DCP (South) Rajarshi Raj Varma said Thursday that Muhana police arrested Mintu Choudhary’s husband and son after recovering her decomposed remains from a deep, dry well near Achrawala village.Mintu Choudhary alias Seema Choudhary (41), with 11 cases filed against her, had been reported missing by her son Hari Om Choudhary (20) on July 21 last year — nearly two months after she allegedly disappeared on May 27.Her phone had been switched off and the family had told relatives that they could not trace her.The breakthrough came when police received information that Mintu had not disappeared but had allegedly been murdered by Hari Om and his father Lala Ram Choudhary (42) about 15 months earlier.Investigators then questioned the two separately and, police said, they disclosed that her body had been dumped in a well outside Achrawala village.According to Varma, Mintu was killed and her body wrapped in a blanket before being transported in an auto at night and dumped into the well. The accused allegedly chose the isolated, dry well to conceal the body and avoid detection.“What initially helped them maintain the deception was a series of conflicting explanations about Mintu’s whereabouts. When relatives asked about her, the accused allegedly claimed first that she was in Tihar Jail and later that she had been lodged in Bharatpur Jail.Her sister contacted jail authorities and found that Mintu was not lodged in either facility,” Varma said, adding that Hari Om later allegedly approached police with a missing-person report (MPR), which police now suspect was an attempt by the duo to distance themselves from her disappearance.Varma said that the motive of the crime appeared to be “family tensions.”Police said the crucial information emerged during the subsequent investigation. Lala had allegedly consumed liquor one day and boasted to an acquaintance that he killed his wife and successfully concealed the crime. The information was passed on to others before reaching the police.The disclosure led investigators to focus on Hari Om and Lala Ram. Technical investigation and information from informers were used to corroborate the leads before the two were detained and questioned, police said.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Jaipur | Silver Rate in Jaipur | Bank Holidays in Jaipur | Public Holidays in Jaipur | Jaipur AQI | Weather in Jaipur | Petrol Price in Jaipur | Diesel Price in Jaipur | CNG Price in Jaipur | LPG Price in JaipurStay updated with the latest Jaipur news. Download the TOI App.