Lakhimpur Kheri, Dec 14 (IANS): A man and his father have been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and then quietly cremating her body in Uttar Pradesh's Lakhimpur Kheri district.

According to reports, the husband Ashutosh Awasthi and his wife Vandana were qualified physicians holding BAMS degrees and running a nursing home 'Gauri Hospital' on Sitapur Road near Bajpayee village.

ASP Arun Kumar Singh said that during interrogation, Ashutosh confessed to have pushed Vandana on November 26, following a dispute with her, causing serious head injuries, leading to her death. He further said that he, along with his father Gauri Shankar, put the body into an iron box and shifted it to the basement of their hospital where they transferred the body again to an ambulance and carried it to Garh Mukteshwar for last rites.

Later, the duo lodged a complaint of the disappearance of the Vandana from the house.

The official said that on the complaint of Shiv Raj Shukla, the father of the deceased, the Kotwali police lodged a case of 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidences) and 498A (subjecting a woman to cruelty), implicating Ashutosh, his father, his mother, Vimlesh Aawsthi, and his sister Nisha Awasthi.

Ashutosh and his father have been arrested from Rajapur crossing of the city.