Meera Yadav was detained for interrogation over her son Abhijeet's murder
Highlights
- Applied balm when son complained of pain in left arm, she had said
- Added that he was restless through the night and never woke up
- Autopsy confirmed "strangling" as the cause of death
Uttar Pradesh politician Ramesh Yadav's wife Meera Yadav was on Monday arrested on charges of killing her 23-year-old son Abhijeet Yadav, police said.
Meera Yadav was detained late on Sunday for interrogation, during which she reportedly broke down and confessed to strangling her 23-year-old son.
Ramesh Yadav is a lawmaker and the chairman of the UP legislative council.
Abhijeet Yadav was found dead in the Dar-ul-shafa lawmaker's flat on Sunday. Initial reports said he had died of a "cardiac arrest".
Meera Yadav told family members and neighbours that her son had come back drunk late on Saturday. She had claimed he was restless through the night and she had applied soothing balm on his chest when he complained of pain in his left arm.
He never woke up, she told neighbours.
The son's body was being taken for cremation when the police intervened, after a family friend alleged foul play.
A senior Lucknow police officer, Kalanidhi Naithani, ordered an autopsy which confirmed "strangling" as the cause of death.
Meera Yadav, who is the second wife of Ramesh Yadav, had kept changing her accounts of the tragedy, which spiked police suspicion.
Sarvesh Mishra, superintendent of police, said Meera Yadav told the police that her drunk son misbehaved with her. She strangled him in a fit of rage, she said.
The lawmaker's wife had quit her job in the state Tourism Department not long back. She had been living in the apartment at Darulshafa with her two sons, Abhishek and Abhijeet.