The Delhi Police cracked the case of the murder of a 47-year-old woman, whose body was found in a drain last month, with the help of a nose pin and has arrested her property dealer husband in the case.

The victim, identified as 47-year-old Seema Singh, was reported missing and her body was discovered in a drain on March 15.

However, it remained unidentified for 15 days until investigators traced her identity through a nose pin she was wearing. The body was found wrapped in a bedsheet and tied to a stone and cement sack, in a drain in Delhi. According to police, Anil Kumar, a property dealer, worked with the family’s domestic help, Shiv Shankar, to commit the gruesome murder.  “The victim’s body was discovered on March 15, wrapped in a bedsheet, tied with cable wire and a heavy stone, and dumped into the Najafgarh drain,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) said in a statement.

The officer further said that initially, her identity remained unknown. The breakthrough came when investigators examined a gold nose pin she was wearing. Its hallmark led police to the manufacturer, which eventually helped trace her identity. 

A sketch released by the police and circulated on social media caught the attention of one of her relatives, who contacted authorities and confirmed Seema’s identity, said the DCP.

He said that an FIR was registered at Chhawla Police Station and multiple teams were formed to nab the accused.  Police eventually tracked the accused and a team apprehended Shiv Shankar. During interrogation, Shiv Shankar confessed that he and Anil strangled Seema to death on March 11 at their residence in Sector 10 in Dwarka.

The duo then disposed of the body to mislead investigators and evade suspicion, Shankar told police. Anil Kumar, who had initially told Seema’s family and the police that she had left home in anger and never returned, had been on the run.

Sources in the police said that Kumar was eventually tracked down and arrested. They also found that Anil was living with another woman in Gurugram and Seema’s family reported her missing at Chhatarpur Police Station days before her body was found.

According to the postmortem report, Seema was killed a few days prior to her body being recovered. Injuries on her face and head indicated a violent struggle before her death.   The couple reportedly had ongoing marital disputes, and police suspect a deeper conspiracy rooted in personal and domestic conflict, police said.

At the time of the incident, Seema was last seen leaving home with her younger son and carrying her purse which was later recovered from her husband’s possession.   Police are now investigating whether the woman Anil was living with had any role in the murder. Further investigation is underway.