Illicit Affair Turns Deadly: Anganwadi Worker Murdered in Varanasi, Accused Couple Nabbed After CCTV Shoe Clue

Varanasi: Police have arrested a young couple in connection with the brutal murder of a 45-year-old Anganwadi worker whose blood-soaked body was found inside her house in the Shivpur police station area of Varanasi on December 11. The accused have been identified as Mohit Yadav (21) and his wife Anjali Chauhan (21).

The victim, Anupama alias Sita, was found dead in a locked room at her residence in Lachhimanpur, Shivpur. She had suffered severe head injuries and her throat had been slit. A grinding stone and sharp objects were allegedly used in the crime.

According to police, the accused confessed that Mohit had been in a relationship with the Anganwadi worker for several years. He alleged that the woman was pressuring him for sexual relations and even offered money, while threatening to implicate him in a police case if he refused. Mohit claimed he shared his distress with his wife, following which the couple planned the murder.

ADCP Neetu Kadyan said Mohit lived on rent near the victim’s house and met her while buying milk. A year ago, Mohit married Anjali, which the Anganwadi worker reportedly opposed. After the marriage, Mohit and Anjali shifted elsewhere, but the woman allegedly continued to threaten him.

On the morning of December 11, when the victim’s husband Shailesh Kumar Patel had left home at around 5 am to sell milk, the accused reached the house. Police said Anjali knocked on the door on the pretext of buying curd, after which Mohit entered the house. The accused slit the woman’s throat from behind and smashed her head with a grinding stone to make the murder appear like a robbery. They fled with jewellery worth about ₹2 lakh and ₹73,640 in cash.

The victim’s husband returned around 10 am to find the door open and his wife missing. On opening a locked room, he found her body lying in a pool of blood. Neighbours alerted the police, following which forensic teams collected evidence from the spot.

During the investigation, police scanned over 200 CCTV cameras. The couple was identified through CCTV footage and shoe impressions found at the crime scene. The accused were arrested near Shivpur railway station while allegedly trying to flee. Blood-stained clothes, the murder weapons, stolen jewellery and cash were recovered on their disclosure.

Police said the accused had even taken photographs of the victim after the murder, leaving their mobile phone behind at the scene. The victim, who was posted at the Khajuri Anganwadi centre and also worked as a BLO, had been married for over a decade and had no children.

A murder case has been registered, and further legal proceedings are underway. The Police Commissioner has announced a reward of ₹50,000 for the team involved in cracking the case.