MP bureaucrat allegedly smothered to death by unemployed husband

A top bureaucrat in Madhya Pradesh was allegedly murdered by her unemployed husband after she refused to make him a nominee in service, insurance, and bank records.

On Sunday, accused Manish Sharma allegedly smothered Shahpura's sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Nisha Napit with a pillow, and sat near her corpse for six hours. He then washed her blood-stained clothes to destroy evidence and took the body to a nearby health centre, where the doctors alerted the police.

Sharma had told the doctors that Napit's nose was bleeding.

The police initially treated it as a case of natural death, but after Napit's body turned blue, they suspected foul play and detained the husband.

The doctor who conducted a post-morterm found out that her body was brought to the centre at least four to five hours after her death, making cops believe that it was not a case of natural death.

During the police questioning, Sharma confessed to his crime and was arrested subsequently under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) Section 302 (murder).

"Police immediately sealed the (couple's) house, and FSL (forensic science laboratory) team collected the evidence. [Sharma] had cleaned the clothes and pillow covers after the death of the SDM," Superintendent of Police (SP) Akhil Patel said, according to the Hindustan Times newspaper.

According to Nisha Napit's family members, the 51-year-old SDM married Manish Sharma (45) through a matrimonial site in 2020. They said that they got to know about their wedding much later.

(With inputs from agencies)