Police on Saturday arrested a man who allegedly killed his wife on suspicion that she was having an extramarital and later decapitated her body, stuffed the torso in a travel bag and head in an empty paint bucket and dumped them at Uttan, beach in Bhayandar West. His brother, who allegedly helped him in disposing of the body parts, was also arrested.
However, a search is underway for the head, police officers said.Investigation into this ghastly murder began after the headless body of the woman, later identified as Anjali Mintu Singh, 23, was found in a suitcase by locals on Friday. There were tattoos of ‘a trishul and om’ on her right forearm.One police team looked for the tattoo artist while four other teams tried to find out from where the bag and a box of eye markers found in it were purchased, police sub-inspector Abhijit Lande from Navghar police station said. Lande said based on the current of the sea, they assumed that the body might have been disposed of in the north — Nalasopara or Virar. The team enquired with over 25 tattoo artists in Naigaon, Vasai and Nalasopara. “All of them said that an artist who made traditional tattoos was based in Naigaon,” Lande said.
On questioning, the tattoo artist concerned recognised the design and told the police that he had carved them on a woman’s arm two months ago. “We then scanned his Instagram account and album where he had kept a record of all his clients and found the woman’s photo,” the officer said.When the police reached her house in Naigaon East, it was found locked. Later, the team learned that the house belonged to Mintu Singh, 25, the woman’s husband, Lande said.On tracing his mobile phone, Mintu along with their 14-month-old son was found at Dadar station, waiting to board a train for Uttar Pradesh, their hometown, Lande said.The Navghar police arrested Mintu, who worked as a security guard, and handed him over to their Uttan counterparts.
According to the police, Mintu used to suspect that his wife, a mehandi artist, had an extramarital affair. The couple had been married for two years. Around 2pm on May 24, the couple along with their son went shopping. On returning home, Anjali went to the bedroom to answer a phone call, which made Mantu furious, Lande said. “He claimed that he was drunk and in a fit of rage, he assaulted Anjali and pushed her to the wall. Her head banged on the wall, resulting in her instant death.”Mintu then took a knife from the kitchen and decapitated her body, Lande said and added that he also cut the torso into three pieces in the hall of his one-bedroom flat. He then stuffed the body in a travel bag which Anjali used to carry to her work and put her head in an empty paint bucket and covered it with a lid, the police officer said.The accused then called his brother Chunchun Singh, a Kandivali resident, and told him that he had a fight with Anjali after which she had eloped with her boyfriend, police officers said.“When Chunchun entered Mintu’s house, he saw the woman’s body in a bag and blood in the apartment,” Lande said, adding that the brothers then left the building and later dumped the bag and the bucket in the sea.Mantu returned home and cleaned up his house. The police said Singh had apparently told his neighbours that his wife had eloped with another man and therefore he was leaving for his hometown along with their son.