Accused was arrested Saturday after an encounter, the police said
A 38-year-old dentist was murdered Friday afternoon at her home in Uttar Pradesh's Agra by a man who gained entry to the house on the pretext of recharging the set top box.
In what was a particularly brutal and savage crime, Dr Nisha Singhal was attacked with a knife and had her throat cut. Dr Singhal's children - the elder of whom is eight and the younger is four - were in another room of the house when their mother was killed.
The children were also attacked but have survived. Dr Singhal's husband, Ajay Singhal, is a surgeon and was on hospital duty at the time of the attack. He rushed home after learning of the horrific incident and rushed his wife to the hospital, where she died of her injuries.
Police identified the accused, who has been named as Shubham Pathak, from CCTV footage and he was arrested on Saturday morning
Police also said the accused, who conned his way into the Singhal residence by pretending to be a cable TV technician, was looking to rob the home.
According to the cops, he remained inside the Singhal residence for over an hour after the murder of Dr Singhal and the attack on her children.
Former UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav expressed his outrage over the shocking incident.
"The state is shocked by the incident in Agra where a women's throat was slit at her home in a busy residential area. The BJP government is busy defending corrupt officials and creating false cases against opposition leaders. The state, instead of focusing on advertising itself on television, should focus on reducing crime in Uttar Pradesh," the Samajwadi Party chief tweeted.