Chhattisgarh: Woman's husband, paramour kill her, bury body after watching 'Drishyam', say police

Kawardha (Chhattisgarh): A 28-year-old woman was killed allegedly by her estranged husband and paramour in Chhattisgarh's Kabirdham district and the duo buried the body in a forest, police said on Monday.

Before committing the offence, the two accused watched Bollywood movie Drishyam to learn ways to hide the body and evade arrest, they said.

The incident took place on July 19 and the police on Sunday arrested the two accused, identified as Lukesh Sahu (29), the woman's estranged husband, and Raja Ram Sahu (26), with whom she was in a relationship, an official said.

On July 22, Kalyanpur village resident Ramkhilawan Sahu lodged a complaint at Lohara police station of his daughter being missing following which a search was launched for her, Kabirdham Additional Superintendent of Police Vikas Kumar told reporters.

The woman's husband had left her three years back on the suspicion of infidelity following which she shifted to her paternal house in Kalyanpur.

On the order of a court, Lukesh had been paying monthly maintenance to the woman for her three children, the official said.

Lukesh told the police that he had become debt-ridden by paying the monthly maintenance to her, he said.

The woman was in a relationship with Raja Ram, hailing from the same village.

Raja Ram told the police he was fed up of the woman's frequent demands for money and that he had allegedly given her Rs 1.50 lakh in cash and electronic gadgets from his shop, the official said.

The two men, who knew each other, wanted to get rid of the woman and hence decided to kill her, he said.

Based on technical evidence, call detail records and questioning of suspects, police zeroed-in on the two men and nabbed them, he said.

The accused told the police that they had been making a plan to kill the woman since one month during which they saw Ajay Devgn-starrer Drishyam to learn ways to murder her and create a plot to evade arrest.

While Raja Ram watched the thriller four times, Lukesh watched it once, the official said.

On July 19, Raja Ram called the woman and went to Ghanikhuta forest with her on her two-wheeler. Lukesh also reached there as per the plan and the two men allegedly strangled the woman with her saree, he said.

"The duo then buried the body at the bottom of a valley and dumped her two-wheeler and mobile phone in the Karranala barrage. The accused also hid her ornaments under the ground near an electric pole in the village. They threw the agricultural tools, used to dig a pit to bury the body, into a rivulet near a government school," he said.

Police have recovered the victim's body, her vehicle, jewellery and objects used in the crime, the official said, adding the accused were arrested on Sunday.

Further probe is on into the incident, he said.