Guwahati, July 3: A married woman who had refused to play Juliet to a libidinous Romeo living next door paid for it with her life.

Renu Bala Devi, 22, was abducted along with her husband Vishal Upadhyay from near Down Town Hospital in Guwahati last night and shot in the head. Vishal was shot at, too, but the bullet only grazed his neck. Police found the couple by the roadside near the office of the Brahmaputra Board at Basistha around 1am.The prime suspect in the murder is John Keishing, alias Romeo. The owner of Rahman Building in Ulubari, where the Renu Bala and her husband had rented an apartment only about four months ago, confirmed that Romeo had been giving his new neighbour the glad eye.

“About six days ago, Romeo entered the apartment through a window in Vishal’s absence and made advances towards his wife. When Renu Bala raised a hue and cry, the neighbours caught Romeo and handed him over to the police,” Rehana Sultana said.

Vishal lodged a complaint at Paltan Bazar police station, only to withdraw it after Romeo apologised.

The police suspect that Romeo and his associates first abducted Renu Bala’s brother, Samarjit Singh, and called her around 11pm to say that he had met with an accident. He said Samarjit was in Down Town Hospital.

Renu Bala and her husband headed for Down Town on a scooter, but were waylaid before they could enter the hospital campus. The assailants then bundled them into a Bolero and drove off towards Basistha. They fired at both before dumping them near the Brahmaputra Board’s office.

Additional superintendent of police (city) Rajen Singh said Vishal might have escaped a second bullet because the assailants thought he was dead. He was discharged from hospital after first aid.

The police have yet to trace Samarjit, who has been staying with his sister and her husband at Rahman Building.

The only thing known about Romeo is that he hails from Manipur and is a tenant in the house adjacent to Rahman Building.

Vishal was originally a resident of P.D. Chaliha Path, near Guwahati Club. He left home after marrying Renu Bala, whose family is based in Lanka in Nagaon district, against his parents’ wishes.

Vishal’s mother, Swarna Upadhyay, added more drama to the incident by claiming that she was unaware that her son had married Renu Bala. “I only knew that Vishal was staying with her in Ulubari. We do not know when he married her,” she said.