Dumped body parts of man found in Nalanda, couple held

THE MAN WAS STRANGULATED TO DEATH AND HIS BODY PARTS WERE CHOPPED OFF AND DISPOSED IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF NALANDA BY THE COUPLE, POLICE SAID

PATNA: A body of a 30-year-old man chopped into six pieces was recovered from separate places in Bihar’s Nalanda district, police said on Monday, adding that a couple has been arrested for the murder.

According to police, a missing case was lodged by the wife of the deceased, identified as Vikas Choudhary, with the Silao police station on November 17 after Choudhary didn’t return home on November 16.

“On November 17, police found a gunny bag from Chhilka village under Noorsarai police station and recovered the hands and legs of a man tied with a rope. The body was sent for an autopsy. Suspecting foul play, a murder case was lodged against unidentified persons,” police said.

In-charge Nalanda Superintendent of Police (SP) in-charge Dr. Shibli Nomani said that the next day, the body was identified by a relative of the deceased with the help of a bracelet and burn injury marks on his right wrist.

“Police collected call data record of Choudhary and detained a couple, identified as--Ranjan Kumar and his wife Jyoti alias Jayanti--from Barakhurd village under Noorsarai police station. During interrogation, they confessed their involvement in the murder with the help of two others,” the SP in charge said.

“After their arrest, police recovered a torso from the bank of Panchane river near Sipah village under Deepnagar police station and a head was recovered from the bank of Punpun river under Fatuha police station of rural Patna,” said Nomani.

Police said that according to Jyoti, she fell in love with Vikas when he used to stay at her mother’s house in 2008 to prepare for a competitive examination. Even after marriage, both kept in touch regularly. “In the preliminary inquiry, we found that Jyoti’s husband sought monetary help from Vikas, and he gave him Rs 1.5 lakh. When Vikas asked them to return the money, the couple decided to eliminate him. Jyoti called him into her house and killed Vikas after strangulating him. They cut the body into pieces with the help of a spade and disposed them off,” the SP said.