By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
A divorced woman was allegedly shot dead by her boyfriend in Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, a police officer said on Sunday.
After the murder on Saturday night, the accused identified as Suresh Gupta is absconding, Dehradun Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Ajai Singh said.
Preeti Rawat (32), who lived alone in a rented accommodation in the Shivaji Nagar area of Rishikesh, was allegedly shot dead late Saturday night. Preeti’s family members have accused her boyfriend, Suresh Gupta, of the murder.
The SSP said that based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s father, Bachchan Singh Rawat, a case has been registered against Gupta under Section 103(1) of the BNS at the Rishikesh police station.
He said that raids are being conducted at all his possible hideouts to nab the accused.
Singh said that the preliminary investigation into the incident and questioning of people in the vicinity revealed that the deceased, a resident of Yamkeshwar in Pauri district, had come to work at a shop in Rishikesh after divorcing her husband a few years ago, where she met Gupta, the shop owner’s son-in-law.
He said that the acquaintance soon turned into a love affair, and Gupta divorced his wife four months ago to marry Preeti.
However, Preeti and her family asked Gupta to acquire property in Rishikesh before the marriage, after which he sold all his ancestral property in Laksar, Haridwar district, for Rs 35 lakh and started looking for a house in Rishikesh. However, he was unable to find a suitable property in Rishikesh for Rs 35 lakh, which led to increasing friction between him and Preeti, and Gupta became depressed.
He said that prima facie, it appears that the accused committed the crime due to depression caused by divorcing his wife to marry the deceased, being unable to buy a house in Rishikesh even after selling all his property, and being unable to marry Preeti.
The SSP said that all possible aspects of the incident are being thoroughly investigated. Singh arrived at the scene, assessed the situation, and met with the deceased’s family, offering them condolences and assuring them of strict action against the accused.