A fourth-year MBBS student and his wife were arrested in Amritsar for allegedly murdering a retired school principal in Dehradun after their plan to blackmail him for money was exposed, police said.

The accused, Himanshu Chowdhary from Roorkee and Geeta Chowdhary from Saharanpur, had been on the run since February 2, when they allegedly killed 62-year-old Shyam Lal in the Patelnagar area. The crime was uncovered on February 7 when Lal’s daughter filed a missing person report.

According to Dehradun SSP Ajai Singh, Himanshu, unable to complete his medical course due to financial struggles, conspired with his wife to extort money from Lal, who had previously been in a relationship with Geeta. They lured Lal to a rented house, intending to record a compromising video, but when he resisted, they strangled him.

Himanshu, using his medical knowledge, waited until the body’s blood had clotted to minimize bleeding before dismembering it. Geeta’s brother assisted in disposing of the remains in a Saharanpur canal. Two accomplices, including Geeta’s brother, were arrested earlier.

After evading police across multiple cities, the couple was finally caught in Amritsar on Thursday. They were brought to Dehradun, produced in court on Friday, and sent to jail.