Auto driver kills American wife, blows himself up

Agra: This one is straight out of a Bollywood potboiler. An American, who fell for an auto driver here and married him, was viciously stabbed to death by her husband. The man then blew himself up.

American social worker Erin White alias Kiran Sharma in September last year married Bunty Sharma alias Ashok, an auto driver. They had met when Erin, 35, visited Agra alongwith a group of Americans.

She was stabbed Thursday evening in the auto which her husband Bunty drove. Her body was thrown out of the auto and found around 8 p.m., police said.

Bunty returned home in Sanjay Nagar after the murder. He shut himself up in his room, opened a gas cylinder valve and blew himself up.

Senior police officials alongwith the dog squad visited the two spots.

The union home ministry and the American embassy in New Delhi have been informed.

Shalabh Mathur, a senior police official, told media persons that the incident took place due to personal problems between the two, following which Bunty killed her and then committed suicide.

Erin and Bunty married on the rooftop of a hotel in Tajganj, against the backdrop of the Taj Mahal.

Police said the couple were having marital problems for the past few months and had visited a family counsellor to resolve their differences.

Bunty accused Erin of lying that she was not married while Erin charged Bunty with cruelty, greed, infidelity and also concealing the fact that he was already married once.

The family counsellor managed to persuade the two to end their differences and start living peacefully.

Erin White was deeply in love with Indian culture and wanted to improve civic conditions in Agra. She was involved in social work.

On the day she was killed, she addressed a press conference in the afternoon to promote her campaign "Agra Sunder Hai". Several local NGOs pledged support to her.

Erin, a professional yoga teacher, had identified three areas which needed to be focused in Agra: water, plastic waste and garbage disposal.