[ Bengia Ajum ]
AALO, 5 Dec: A 24-year-old woman, identified as Julie Ruchi, was found dead under mysterious circumstances here in West Siang district on Monday night.
Ruchi, who belonged to Shi-Yomi district, was reportedly living with her husband Toni Lollen in the old market area here. While the husband has claimed that she died by suicide, the family members of Ruchi have alleged that she was murdered by Lollen and his first wife.
Briefing the media, Aalo Police Station OC Duto Bagra informed that the husband, “on Monday night, at around 10:30 pm, came to the police station and claimed that his wife had killed herself.
“Immediately, the police team went to the spot and took her to the district hospital, where she was declared brought dead,” the OC said.
“For now, we have registered an unnatural death case. We are awaiting the postmortem report. Further action will be taken based on the postmortem report. We are investigating from all angles. At this juncture, we cannot rule out even the murder theory,” said Bagra.
He further informed that Toni Lollen has been detained by the police and is currently being interrogated.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased have termed her death murder and appealed to the investigation officer to properly investigate the case.
“I spoke to my sister yesterday evening. She told me that Toni, along with his first wife, was torturing her. She had expressed fear for her life. I assured her to visit next morning to settle the issue, but unfortunately, she was killed,” claimed the deceased’s elder brother.
He alleged also that Lollen’s first wife had threatened him over the phone.
“She was alleging that my sister was trying to grab her property. She kept threatening me. My sister has been murdered and we want swift police investigation,” he added.
Expressing deep anguish, the family members warned that, if the police do not properly investigate the case, “there will be repercussions.”
