Pratibha Gautam Murder: Husband Gets Arrested as Potential Accused

The revelation was made on Monday by a senior police official in Kanpur.

Friends who have known Pratibha and Manu for quite sometime reveal that they were a loving and understanding couple. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/PratibhaGautam)

Kanpur SSP Shalabh Mathur has revealed that Judge Pratibha Gautam’s husband, Manu Abhishek Rajan, has been arrested as a potential accused in the murder.

The judge had been found dead at her Kanpur residence on Sunday.

According to the police, the judge was strangulated to death. The husband had threatened to kill his wife. There was tension between the couple regarding abortion of a child which resulted in a fight. This information has been gained using WhatsApp messages. The murder took place because the abortion did not happen - the husband also mentioned consumption of alcohol. Stress due to abortion, which led to arguments, and tension between the two families are the main reasons for the murder.

Shalabh Mathur, SSP Kanpur

All this information has been put together after an examination of Gautam’s dead body.

According to reports, Gautam had married Abhishek, son of retired judge Suresh Chandr Rajan, against the wishes of her family on 23 January.

The husband of a 28-year-old joint magistrate, whose body was found hanging in her house, was arrested on Monday for allegedly murdering her as she refused to undergo an abortion, police said.

Also Read: Kanpur Judicial Magistrate Pratibha Gautam Found Dead

Gautam, who was three months pregnant, was found hanging in her house at Circuit House colony in Kanpur on Sunday with her husband Manu Abhishek claiming that he had found the body after he returned from Delhi.

Also Read: Questions Around Judicial Magistrate Pratibha Gautam’s Death

Pratibha Gautam with husband Manu Abhishek. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook/PratibhaGautam)

The post-mortem report has confirmed it to be a case of murder. Injury marks were found on her hands and legs which indicate that she was probably beaten with a rod, Assistant Superintendent of Police Shalabh Mathur said.

Police suspect that she was strangulated using a rope and then hanged from the ceiling fan. Injury marks from blade were found on her wrists.

He said Abhishek was arrested after police went through his call details and WhatsApp records. He is being questioned by the police. His parents and Gautam's domestic help are also being questioned, he said.

The couple were having frequent fights recently as Abhishek wanted her to undergo an abortion and she had refused, Mathur said.

Gautam was posted in Kanpur (Rural) and the two had married in January this year against the wishes of their families.

Abhishek had claimed that she had gone to Delhi two days ago and came back on Saturday, following which her phone was switched off. After being unable to contact her, he said he left for Kanpur from Delhi and found her body hanging from the ceiling fan in the house.

What Happened a Day Before Pratibha Gautam’s Death

According to husband Manu Abhishek, Judge Gautam had arrived in Delhi on Saturday. He picked her up from the railway station; the couple had an argument following which Pratibha got out of the car. Her phone was switched off after that until midnight.

Later, Abhishek and his father left for Kanpur in different cars and arrived to find Pratibha dead at her residence.

(With inputs from PTI)