
A 56-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his live-in partner and dismembering her body at his rented apartment in Mumbai's Mira Road. The man reportedly chopped the body of his partner with a tree cutter and also boiled her body parts in a cooker.
The suspect, identified as Manoj Sahani, had been staying with Saraswati Vaidya, 36, in the rental flat at Geeta Akash Deep building in Geeta Nagar Phase 7 over the past three years, according to an India Today report.
On Wednesday, Nayanagar police station received a call from local residents of the building, complaining about a foul smell emanating from the couple's flat. A team then rushed to the spot and found the decomposed body of the woman, which was cut into several pieces.
"Manoj Sahani and Saraswati Vaidya were in a live-in relationship and used to live in the Geeta Akash Deep building. The couple had a fight over some matter following which the woman was murdered by her partner," Jayant Bajbale, deputy commissioner of police (Zone 1) told India Today.
Bajbale further added that her body was cut into pieces with a cutter. "When we reached the house and opened the door, we understood it was a case of murder and the suspect tried to hide the evidence," he said.
Further investigation into the case is currently underway.
In a similar case last year, a man identified as Aaftab Poonawala, murdered his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar. Poonawala chopped Walkar's body into 35 pieces and stored them in a 300-litre refrigerator at his home in Mehrauli for about three weeks before disposing them off over several days in the different forest areas of NCR.
Since November 12, 2022, Aaftab has been in police custody.
A heavy 6,629 page charge sheet against Aftab in the murder case was filed by Delhi police on January 24. The Indian Criminal Code's Sections 302, 201, and other provisions are covered by the charge sheet (IPC).
(With inputs from Saurabh Vaktania)