Police said that on the day of the murder, Saqib and his alleged co-conspirators laced the victim’s cold drink with a substance which made her unconscious. (File photo)

A year after a woman’s semi-nude body, with the head and left cut off and right hand mutilated, was discovered in a Meerut field, police have arrested six people in connection with her murder.

Police said the 19-year-old victim hailed from Ludhiana and had travelled to Meerut with one Saqib, where they lived together in a rented accommodation. However, Saqib eyed the gold jewelry she had brought along to further his business, police said, and conspired with his family members and associates to plot her murder.

Police said that on the day of the murder, Saqib and his alleged co-conspirators laced the victim’s cold drink with a substance which made her unconscious. They then proceeded to decapitate her and cut off her left hand — where she had a tattoo with his name — while mutilating the right hand. The body was then buried and salt was poured on the earth to decompose it faster, police said. The following day, a dog sniffed out a part of the body, which led to its discovery.

“We had found the (body) in a field in Meerut’s Daurala on June 13th (2019)… We intensified our search and traced some men in the area who had traveled to Punjab. Through this lead, we circled in on the woman’s identity which led us to Saqib … The accused will be taken on remand…” said Meerut SSP Ajay Sahni.

On Monday, when Saqib was being taken to the spot where he allegedly buried the victim’s head, he tried to escape and was shot three times. He is currently receiving treatment, police said.