After throttling his wife at night, he pushed the body into a gorge from the cliff near Lambikeri area.
A Vaishno Devi-bound pilgrim was allegedly killed by her husband who throttled her and then threw the body off a cliff to make it look like an accident in Katra town of Reasi district, police said on Tuesday. The couple got married on March 10.
The body of the woman, identified as Lakshmi Gupta (25), a resident of New Delhi, was found in a stream in Lambikeri area, en route to the Bhavan this morning, said a police officer.
The husband of the deceased, Shakti Gupta, had filed a missing report at the police post at Ardh Kumari. During the course of investigation, police became suspicious of the husband and started interrogating him, the officer added.
"His statement created a suspicion and the police contacted the parents of the deceased who confirmed a matrimonial dispute between the couple," he said.
When put to sustained interrogation, the accused confessed to the crime. He told the police that after throttling his wife at night, taking advantage of the darkness, he pushed the body into a gorge from the cliff near Lambikeri area, the officer added.
"The husband has been arrested and an investigation is on to reveal the motive behind the murder," said the officer.