Man slits friend’s throat over affair, flees after packing his body in bag

In a suspected love triangle case, a 22-year-old Jamshedpur man allegedly murdered his friend by slitting his throat, packed the body in a suitcase, and kept it underneath the staircase of his rented accommodation before fleeing, police said.

The accused, Atul Chaurasiya, is absconding since the crime while the police are interrogating his family and friends to mount pressure on him to surrender.

An FIR was registered at Parsodih police station in Jamshedpur late on Friday after Atul’s landlord Amarnath Dubey found the blood-soaked suitcase at his house and informed the police.

Parsodih officer in-charge Animesh Kumar Gupta told HT that a possible rift over money matters could be the reason behind the murder. However, a common love interest seemed to be the most probable reason for the cold-blooded killing for now, he added. “It is difficult to ascertain what exactly prompted the accused to kill his friend so barbarically. Things will only be clear after we arrest him,” Gupta said.

Police sources said the victim, Shubham Das, 21, was having an affair with one Summi, who studied in a college outside Jharkhand. Atul, on the other hand, was a common friend to Summi and Shubham.

Shubham was reportedly proving to be a hurdle for Atul to express his love for Summi, and it was suspected he wanted to get rid of him, they added. Gupta said Atul had invited Shubham to his place on Friday and served him drinks laced with sedatives.

“Once he fell unconscious, Atul slit his throat and packed him in the suitcase,” said Gupta.

The police also recovered bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and a few packets of cigarettes from Atul’s room.

Jamshedpur city SP Prashant Anand, who inspected the crime spot on Friday, said the police were mounting pressure on Atul to surrender. “W have received information that he has fled to Patna in Bihar,” said Anand.