Landlady murdered by tenant couple over unpaid rent, body stuffed in suitcase

Gaziabad: A shocking murder case from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh has once again highlighted the dangers faced by homeowners while renting out houses to strangers in big cities.

A tenant couple allegedly murdered their landlady over a dispute related to unpaid rent, stuffed her body into a suitcase and attempted to flee, before being caught by police.

The victim has been identified as Deepshika Sharma (48), a school teacher and resident of Raj Nagar Extension in Ghaziabad. Her body was recovered from a suitcase kept inside a rented flat at the Aura Chimera residential complex.

The accused, Ajay Gupta and Aakriti Gupta, have been arrested. According to police, Deepshika Sharma and her husband Umesh Sharma owned two flats in the apartment complex. The couple lived in one flat and had rented out the other to the Gupta couple.

Ajay Gupta reportedly worked in the transport sector. However, the tenants had not paid rent for the past four months, leading to repeated disputes. On Wednesday, Deepshika Sharma went alone to the rented flat to demand the pending rent, as her husband was not at home at the time.

When she did not return for a long time, the family’s domestic help, Meena, grew suspicious and began searching for her. Meena also went to the Gupta couple’s flat, but their evasive replies further raised her doubts.

Meena then checked the CCTV footage in the apartment complex, which showed Deepshika entering the tenants’ flat but not coming out. She immediately alerted the police.

Around the same time, the Gupta couple were seen attempting to leave the apartment with a large suitcase and had even called an autorickshaw. Meena stopped them and insisted that they remain there until “didi” returned. Due to her intervention, the accused were forced to go back inside the flat.

When police arrived and conducted a search of the rented house, they were horrified to find Deepshika Sharma’s body stuffed inside the suitcase. Preliminary investigation suggests that an argument broke out between the landlady and the tenants over unpaid rent, which escalated into violence.

Police said the accused allegedly hit Deepshika on the head with a pressure cooker and later strangled her using a dupatta, killing her on the spot. They then attempted to conceal the crime by packing the body in a suitcase and trying to flee.

Senior police officer Upasana Pandey confirmed that a case has been registered based on a complaint filed by the victim’s family and that further investigation is underway.

The incident has sparked widespread concern, serving as a grim reminder for homeowners to exercise caution, verify tenant credentials thoroughly, and avoid confronting tenants alone over disputes, especially in large urban settings.

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