Mangala Karar, who died because her husband found her ugly

Mangala Karar, 22-year-old housewife whose mutilated body was found last Thursday in Domjur (Howrah), had to pay with her life just because her husband thought she did not look good enough. The couple married a month-and-a-half ago.

Husband Laltu, his father Rashbehari and mother Savitri have been arrested following a complaint lodged by Mangala’s mother Debu Sarkar.

“Our probe suggests that her husband had plotted the murder because he thought she looked ugly,” said a senior police officer. “Laltu had been torturing her physically and mentally since their marriage.”

“We haven’t come across any clue suggesting Laltu has an extra-marital affair or that the murder had any financial motive,” said Satyajit Banerjee, additional superintendent of police.

Mangala was the only daughter of Debu, a resident of Ghugupara, in Liluah. Her father died before her birth. “She was my only link with this world. What will I do now?” wailed Debu, recalling the events leading to the discovery of the body.

Laltu, a resident of Jagachha, and Mangala went to Debu’s house on Wednesday morning. Laltu left around 11 am.

Debu woke up from her afternoon sleep around 5 pm and found Mangala missing.

Debu’s neighbour Debaman Ghugu said: “Around 5.30 pm on Wednesday, I saw Mangala talking to her husband on the banks of a waterbody nearby. There were two other men, probably Laltu’s accomplices. Two motorcycles were parked there. That was the last time I saw Mangala.”

Early next day, her body was found on the premises of a factory in Domjur, around 15 km from her mother’s house. She was strangulated with an iron cord and her head was smashed with bricks.

“All my daughter wanted was a loving husband and a small family. She loved children very much,” she Debu, tears rolling down her face.