A couple from Delhi’s Trilokpuri set out on what seemed to be a spiritual journey to the sacred Mahakumbh festival. The husband diligently recorded their trip, capturing moments on camera and sending them to their children, creating the illusion of a joyful pilgrimage.

However, by the following morning, the wife’s blood-soaked body lay in their guesthouse room, turning the religious excursion into a gruesome crime scene.

It took the Prayagraj Commissionerate Police just 48 hours to solve the shocking Mahakumbh murder case and arrest the husband, who was found responsible for the brutal murder of his wife in the Jhunsi area on the night of 18 February.

The Chilling Discovery

On the morning of February 19, 2025, police in Prayagraj were alerted to a horrifying discovery— the body of a 40-year-old woman, her throat slit, lying in the bathroom of a homestay in Azad Nagar Colony, an area bustling with pilgrims attending the Mahakumbh festival.

The guesthouse manager, who had allocated the couple a room without verifying their identities, stumbled upon the scene and immediately contacted the authorities.

Investigators swiftly pieced together initial clues. The victim had checked in with a man the previous night, presenting themselves as a married couple. However, by morning, she was dead, and the man had vanished.

Unmasking The Perpetrator

Determined to identify the victim, the police circulated her photograph across social media and local newspapers. Two days later, on February 21, 2025, the effort bore fruit when her family recognised her and contacted the authorities.

The deceased was identified as Meenakshi, wife of Ashok Kumar, a resident of Trilokpuri, Delhi. Her brother, Pravesh Kumar, accompanied by her two sons, Ashwani and Adarsh, rushed to Prayagraj and confirmed her identity at the Jhunsi police station.

With a positive identification in place, the police launched a manhunt for Ashok Kumar, eventually apprehending him and uncovering a sinister truth.

A Calculated Murder Driven By Infidelity

During intense interrogation, Ashok Kumar confessed to the crime, admitting that he had been planning his wife’s murder for three months.

A sanitation worker from East Delhi, Ashok was entangled in an extramarital affair and sought to eliminate his wife to continue his illicit relationship.

Using the Mahakumbh festival as a guise, he lured Meenakshi on a pilgrimage, departing Delhi on February 17, 2025.

The following day, they arrived in Jhunsi and checked into a guesthouse. As the night progressed, tensions between them escalated into an argument.

When Meenakshi stepped into the bathroom, Ashok seized the opportunity to strike, mercilessly slitting her throat with a knife. He then discarded his bloodstained clothes and the murder weapon before fleeing the scene.

To mislead his family, Ashok called his son, claiming that Meenakshi had disappeared in the dense crowds of the Mahakumbh fair. Pretending to be distressed, he insisted that he had searched for her but to no avail.

The Web Of Lies Falls Apart

However, Ashok’s deception began to unravel when his son, Ashwin, grew suspicious of his inconsistent statements. On February 20, 2025, the family travelled to Prayagraj, armed with Meenakshi’s photograph, and began searching for her.

Meanwhile, investigators meticulously examined CCTV footage from the vicinity where the body was found.

They discovered that just a day before the murder, Ashok had uploaded a video of himself and Meenakshi joyfully taking a holy dip in the sacred waters of the Mahakumbh.

Surveillance footage, forensic analysis, and Ashok’s conflicting statements sealed his fate, leading to his swift arrest.

Justice In Motion

The brutal murder of Meenakshi at a site of spiritual sanctity has sent shockwaves through the region.

The case highlights the importance of stricter verification protocols in accommodations and serves as a chilling reminder of the lengths to which some individuals will go to pursue their desires.

As legal proceedings unfold, Ashok Kumar now faces the full weight of the law, his pilgrimage of deception ending in a prison cell rather than the divine salvation he once feigned to seek.

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