Howrah city police today arrested the husband of Jharkhand actress Ria Kumari alias Isha Alia, who was allegedly found murdered in a car at Bagnan, Howrah on Wednesday, following intense interrogation in which he was found to be inconsistentwith his statements, Howrah city police sources said. An officer in the Howrah city police commissionerate said that Prakash Kumar, husband of Ria Kumari, was arrested following a complaint lodged against him by the family members of the actress, who had accused Kumar of physically torturing the actress since she was his second wife.

Howrah city police sources said there were several inconsistencies in his statements. This was coupled with subsequent leads in their investigation which revealed that Kumar, who had a huge debt to be repaid, was allegedly trying to usurp her life insurance money and would often subject her to physical torture. Besides, it has also came to light that there was frequent confrontations between the duo since Kumari was not in favour of her husband’s alleged relationship with his first wife.

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Kumar had attributed the killing of his wife to a group of miscreants, who had allegedly shot his wife to death while trying to commit a robbery when he was allegedly some distance away from hi s car to respond to nature’s call. But investigation so far into the incident revealed a huge discrepancies in his statements, which were not consistent with the way the incident happened.

Kumar, who was initially detained by the Howrah rural police following the murder, told the investigators that a group of miscreant s who came in a car stopped near his car, while he was some distance away to relieve himself had tried to rob his wife. He claimed his wife screamed while trying to resist the miscreants but no one came to her rescue and the miscreants fled after shooting her near her ear. A team of forensic experts today visited the spot where the alleged murder had taken place and collected samples from the ompounded car.

Apart from autopsy, the experts would also take samples from the deceased for forensic tests. Investigation revealed that Kumari was shot at from point blank range and there was a hole beside her ear. A cartridge was found from the car, inconsistent with Kumar’s allegation of an attack by miscreants.