By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Mar. 17: On Monday evening, police recovered a blood-soaked body of Santoshi Shrestha Sapkota, 33, from squatter-settlement area at Balkhu Bridge in Kathmandu. She had tied inter-caste nuptial knot with Santosh Sapkota alias Yagya Kumar some five years ago.

Within 24 hours of the incident, the police squad deployed from the Kathmandu Metropolitan Police Range arrested Santosh from Kuleshwore for interrogation, who later confessed to murdering her. She had started staying at her Jorpati-based maternal house since the pandemic hit.

Enraged after she started seeking divorce from him, he hacked her to death with hammer, handcuffed Santosh told the police on Tuesday evening, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) and chief of Kathmandu Police Ashok Singh. 

The wife’s objection to his job as a house painter had drove him to drug addiction. The ensuing quarrels between them revolved around that issue since the last few months, he told the police during interrogation.

SSP Singh said initial police investigation showed that her murder was premediated. "After murdering her, he took away her gold chain, earrings, and money before fleeing the scene," he added. 

According to the police, on the day of the incident, Shantoshi had left her home at 9 am citing   payment of the installment of the loan money they had jointly taken from a Sanepa-based cooperative as a reason. However, she didn't return home till Monday evening. After paying the due money, he had met Santosh at his Balkhu-based home. Soon after, quarrel between them over the loan erupted.  It was during that time, he murdered her, the investigating police said.

The police are preparing to charge him with murder after keeping him in detention for seven days.