Love Turns Lethal: Husband Strangles Wife on Valentine’s Day in Haryana

Published: Tuesday, February 17, 2026, 17:24 [IST]

What was meant to be a Valentine's Day outing ended in bloodshed and betrayal in Haryana, where a newly married woman was brutally murdered-not by strangers, but by the man she trusted the most.

Late on Sunday night, Jhajjar Police received a distress call from chartered accountant Anshul Dhawan, who claimed his wife Mahak had been attacked by robbers in Bahadurgarh. He alleged that unidentified assailants had slit her throat and fled.

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In Haryana, Jhajjar Police solved the murder of Mahak, a bank employee, within 18 hours after her husband, Anshul Dhawan, reported she was attacked by robbers. Anshul, who married Mahak on September 25, confessed to killing her due to mistrust and jealousy, initially staging the crime scene to appear as a robbery.

But the story soon began to unravel.

A marriage cracking under suspicion

Married on 25 September last year, Anshul from Hisar and Mahak from Hansi appeared to be starting a new life together. Both worked in Gurugram-Mahak as a bank employee at HDFC Bank.

Behind closed doors, however, the marriage was reportedly spiralling. Relatives later told police that Anshul had grown increasingly suspicious of Mahak, with arguments becoming frequent and intense.

Gloves, lies, and a staged crime scene

Investigators discovered chilling details during the probe. Police said Anshul wore gloves, strangled Mahak to death, and then used scissors to slash her neck, attempting to make the murder appear like a robbery.

When officers began questioning him, his version of events kept changing. He failed to describe the alleged attackers. Timelines didn't match. Evidence at the scene contradicted his claims. Each answer only deepened suspicion.

Under sustained interrogation, the truth finally surfaced.

Confession exposes brutal motive

Police said Anshul eventually confessed to killing Mahak, admitting that his jealousy and doubts about her character pushed him towards violence. What he tried to disguise as a random crime was, in reality, a calculated act driven by mistrust.

Mahak's father, Krishna Kathuria, had pointed fingers at Anshul from the very start, refusing to believe the robbery story.

Case cracked in 18 hours

Jhajjar Police said the murder was solved within 18 hours, bringing a swift end to a case that shocked the region. The killing has cast a dark shadow over Valentine's Day-transforming a symbol of love into a reminder of how suspicion and control can turn fatal.