MP: SDM Killed By Husband For Not Making Him Financial Nominee

Nisha Napit, a subdivisional magistrate of Shahpura near Dindori district in MP, was murdered by her husband Manish Sharma who was upset as she did not select him as a nominee for her financial service records including insurance policy and bank accounts. 

The accused murdered his wife by smothering her face with a pillow. He later washed the pillow and blood-stained clothes in the washing machine while sitting beside the body for several hours before taking his deceased to the hospital. Sharma misled the investigators by blaming the death of his wife on her health issues. 

SDM Killed By Husband For Not Making Him Nominee In Financial Records

According to the reports, Sharma smothered Napit's face at midnight in the government quarters of his wife following a heated argument between the two for not making him a nominee of her bank accounts, service books, and other policies and insurances.

After murdering his wife, the accused himself drove his deceased wife to the hospital where the doctors observed blood stains on her nose and suspected a could-be crime leading them to inform the police and their probe into the case. 

Autopsy reports further stated that Napit's death was due to suffocation hours before she was brought to the hospital.

Misleading Investigation

SP Akhil Patel who was leading the investigation into the case shared how in an attempt to mislead the investigators, the accused cooked up the story of Napit observing a fast on Saturday and eating only guava despite her health complications. Sharma then shared that Napit began vomiting at night and did not wake up till 10 am the next morning when he went for a walk outside. 

Sharma added to his story and claimed that Napit's physical condition was bad and one of her kidneys was damaged. As the stories and timelines did not match, the house was quickly sealed off and forensic teams were immediately sent to inspect the site of the incident.

Arrest

After checking every nook and cranny of the site, forensic teams after running a few tests found out Sharma tried to hide the evidence as he washed off the blood-stained clothes and bedding once tests were run by the forensic teams. 

According to the police, Sharma washed off the blood-stained clothes she was wearing at the time of her murder and other bed sheets and pillowcases in an attempt to erase the evidence of his crime. 

DIG Balaghat Mukesh Shrivastava said they have had enough evidence against Sharma to arrest him for further interrogation and SP Akhil Patel detailed that Sharma has been booked under different IPC sections of murder, dowry-related death, destroying evidence, and other offences. 

Family Of The Victim

Shahpura magistrate, Nisha Napit (50) met Manish Sharma (45) on a matrimonial site in October 2020 and the two got married in the same year at a Gayatri Mandir in Mandla, MP. The sister of the deceased, Neelima Napit claimed that Sharma used to harass Nisha over money matters and torture her and denied Nisha having any health complications.

Reports suggest that the deceased had recently refused to nominate her husband as a co-owner of certain properties held in her name due to lack of trust. This decision, it is believed, may have been the catalyst for a heated argument and the subsequent tragedy, as confirmed by many family members of the deceased. 

Neelima Napit also shared with the media persons that Sharma was unemployed and used to harass Nisha over money matters. She also shared that when Nisha was posted in Mandal district she even lodged a police complaint over the harassment and torture by her husband but the issue was "resolved" after the senior police officer's intervention. 

Protests have erupted demanding a transparent and expeditious investigation into the circumstances surrounding her demise. Women's rights groups have also condemned the incident, highlighting the prevalence of domestic violence and the need for stronger legal safeguards for women.