Man allegedly kills wife with snake venom for Rs 25 lakh insurance in Uttarakhand

Dehradun: In a terrifying incident from Uttarakhand’s Udham Singh Nagar, a man allegedly killed his wife by injecting her with snake venom in a bid to claim a Rs 25 lakh life insurance payout. The case came to light after the victim's brother reported the crime to the Jaspur police.

The accused, identified as Shubham Chaudhary, is accused of murdering his wife, Saloni Chaudhary, on August 11, just weeks after taking out a life insurance policy in her name. The policy, valued at Rs 25 lakh, was purchased on July 15, with Shubham naming himself as the sole beneficiary. He also paid a premium of Rs 2 lakh to the insurance company.

Saloni's brother, Ajit Singh, lodged a formal complaint with the police, alleging that Shubham had been physically and mentally abusing his sister for years. Ajit stated that Saloni had been seeking a divorce due to Shubham's extramarital affair, which began four years ago. Despite several attempts by the community to resolve the matter through panchayats, Shubham’s abusive behavior reportedly continued.

Following the complaint, the initial case of suspicious death was upgraded to a murder investigation. The police have registered a case against Shubham Chaudhary, his parents, and one other individual under Section 103(1) of the BNS. Saloni’s viscera has been sent for further forensic examination to collect additional evidence against the accused.