LUCKNOW: When the 48-year-old man started talking, men in uniform posted at

in Raebareli district were stunned beyond words. In a family dispute which had gone horribly wrong, a 48-year-old man

killed his 20-year-old wife on the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday.

Resident of Kale Ka Purwa, a village dominated by Muslims in Fursatganj tehsil, Mustaqeem worked as a commercial vehicle driver. According to people who stayed in the same village, Mustaqeem was extremely promiscuous and had stayed with 13 different women at his house for a few days to few years. Police could confirm Mustaqeem had been married to four women.

Early on Wednesday morning the mini truck driver went to the police to file a missing complaint as his fourth wife had gone missing. Few hours later woman’s body was discovered in the thickets. Apart from injuries on the head, a portion of woman’s skirt was used to strangulate her.

Mustaqeem reached the spot and blamed a fellow villager for the crime. Station officer of Naseerabad police station,

said that Mustaqeem and the said villager have been at loggerheads for the past two years and have filed at least 16 complaints against each other. Mustaqeem had caught his friend and the deceased woman together.

Police did not come across anything amiss after questioning the suspect and decided to confront Mustaqeem. “We picked him up for detailed interrogation on Thursday morning and placed him under arrest,” added Mohan. On being grilled, Mustaqeem owned up to the killing. It turned out that Mustaqeem had seen his fourth wife along with his 23-year-old son from the first marriage in a compromising position a few days back.

Inspector general Lucknow,

said, “Such crimes are difficult to prevent as police does not have an inkling of what is going on inside someone’s house. Nobody in the village knew whereabouts of girl’s parents. It appears Mustaqeem had brought the woman when she was a minor. He had returned from a journey along with the girl. His daughter told that Nikah was held three years back but nobody from the village was invited.”

The villagers it seems had shunned the entire family long back. Pradhan of Kale Ka Purwa village, Ram Sajivan said, “Mustaqeem and his son Imran have been booked multiple times by both Amethi and Raebareli police. They sold drugs, firearms and indulged in all sorts of illegal activities. Just few months back they had slaughtered a cattle and obtained bail recently.” Local circle officer Shashi Kant Yadav confirmed father-son duo were implicated in multiple criminal cases. Imran left the house soon after his father was picked up.

While his first wife died long back after leaving behind three children, the other two separated from Mustaqeem. The deceased woman left behind a three-month-old child.