A Skull Found In Septic Tank Unravels Story Of Love, Marriage And Betrayal

What began as a love story through social media ended in betrayal, addiction, and a murder concealed beneath layers of garbage and decay. 

Six months after being filed as a missing person case in Madhya Pradesh's Deori city, police unearthed a horrifying truth about a 22-year-old man who disappeared without a trace.

The breakthrough came when investigators excavated a septic tank behind the accused's house and recovered a skull and bone fragments believed to be the missing man's remains.

Prince Balmiki, a resident of Sagar district, was reported missing on August 20 by his wife, Tulsi. The case initially yielded no solid leads and was quietly shelved. But the family's persistent suspicion that Prince's disappearance was no accident kept the investigation alive.

The main accused, Shoaib, was arrested in Narsinghpur after technical surveillance and mobile location tracking led police to him. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to drugging and murdering Prince over a love affair, a betrayal that police say spiralled into a calculated and cold-blooded crime.

Police now claim that Tulsi and Shoaib were in a relationship even before her marriage to Prince, a marriage that reportedly began through a social media connection. Investigators allege that the illicit relationship continued after the wedding. 

Within a month of marriage, Tulsi's behaviour reportedly changed, frequent disputes erupted at home, and the couple moved to Deori to stay at her parental house.

What followed, police say, was a deadly game of deception. Shoaib allegedly befriended Prince while the latter was living in Deori. Investigators revealed that Shoaib was addicted to smack and gradually got Prince hooked as well. Under the influence of drugs, Shoaib is accused of secretly meeting Tulsi. When Prince discovered the affair and objected, tensions escalated.

According to Investigating Officer Inspector Hariram Mankar, Shoaib confessed that on August 20 he drugged Prince and then murdered him. He allegedly dumped the body into a septic tank behind his house and covered it with garbage to avoid suspicion. In a macabre attempt to erase evidence, the accused reportedly spent nearly a month monitoring the site and sprinkling salt over the body to accelerate decomposition.

Under tight security, police took Shoaib to the crime scene and excavated the septic tank, recovering a skull and other skeletal remains. The remains have been sent for DNA testing to confirm their identity.

After the murder, Shoaib allegedly fled with Tulsi to Gujarat, where the two were living together. Videos of them surfaced and reached Prince's family, intensifying their suspicions. Acting on the family's tip-off and technical inputs, police tracked Shoaib down in Narsinghpur district and arrested him.

Prince's brother said the family had always believed that his disappearance was not accidental and had demanded an impartial probe. "We never accepted that he simply went missing. We kept pressing for investigation," he said.

The Superintendent of Police confirmed that further interrogation is underway and that other angles, including possible involvement of additional persons, are being examined. "Strict action will be taken against anyone found complicit," he stated.

The gruesome recovery has sent shockwaves across Sagar district. The accused will be produced in court, and police are expected to seek remand to uncover further details of a crime that lay buried quite literally for six months.