- The woman allegedly killed her husband and buried the body under floor tiles at her home
- The woman had a pit dug 12 days ago and tiled it over to conceal the body before withdrawing money
- Neighbours informed Chavan's brothers that he had not been seen since July 10, and his wife was also missing
Police on Tuesday arrested a woman and her lover in Pune city for allegedly killing her husband and burying the body under floor tiles at their home in Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials said.
The gruesome murder of the victim, Vijay Chavan (34), a resident of Gangnipada in Nallasopara, a distant suburb of Mumbai, came to light on Monday when his highly decomposed body, believed to be buried under the tiles at his home about two weeks back, was exhumed.
After registering an FIR against two persons under sections 103 (murder), 238 (destruction of evidence) and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, police launched a search and traced Chavan's wife Chaman Devi (28), and her liover Monu Sharma (20), both accused in the case, to Hadapsar in Pune city, around 270km from Palghar, they said.
An official from the Pelhar police station, under whose jurisdiction the crime took place, said the duo was nabbed in the evening and being brought to Palghar.
ACP Bajrang Desai of the Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police confirmed the arrest of Chaman Devi and Sharma for the murder.
However, how and why Chavan was killed by the duo was still not known, according to police.
Talking to reporters on Monday, Pelhar police station's senior inspector Jitendra Vankoti said two brothers of Chavan wanted to meet him on July 10 as they needed money to purchase a new house.
"They called him (Chavan), but his phone was coming switched off. Hence, they came down to his house and enquired with his wife, who told them her husband had gone out for some work. They called her on July 19 to find out if Chavan has returned home, but her phone was coming switched off," he said.
The brothers of Chavan came to check again and found he was not at home and his wife was also missing, said the inspector.
"When they inspected the house, they found new tiles on the floor. Suspecting something fishy, they removed the tiles only to find a foul smell emanating from the floor," he said.
On being alerted, a police team arrived in the house and exhumed the body in the presence of doctors, forensic experts and local tehsildar, according to Vankoti.
Meanwhile, neighbours informed Chavan's brothers that he had not been seen from July 10 and his wife was also missing since July 19, said police.
The police suspected Chavan's wife killed him with the help of her lover and fled.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
