Breakthrough in Tapan woman missing case, police recover body parts

BALURGHAT: Police have made significant strides in the investigation of a gruesome murder in the Tapan of South Dinajpur. The body parts of a woman were earlier spotted in a field, leading to a series of startling revelations.

“The dismembered body of a woman was recovered from a field in the Tariot area of Ramchandrapur Gram Panchayat under Tapan Police Station on the afternoon of June 21. The initial investigation suggests that the body was dismembered using a tractor rotavator and then buried in different locations to conceal the crime,” stated Chinmay Mittal, Superintendent of Police, South Dinajpur, stated in a Press conference on Sunday.

An extramarital affair could have been the motive behind the murder, feel the police. One Saddam Sarkar has been arrested in connection with the crime. He is a farmer who lives in the same neighbourhood of the victim in Tapan. “Sarkar was apprehended following evidence of frequent mobile phone conversations with the deceased woman. He confessed to the murder during interrogation,” Mittal added.

According to the police, Sarkar allegedly used a truck to kill the woman before dismembering her body. The tractor believed to have been used in the dismemberment has been confiscated. Sarkar was presented before the Balurghat District Court, where a 14-day police remand was requested.

Mittal emphasised that the investigation is ongoing and aims to uncover the full extent of the crime, including whether others were involved. “When the investigation is complete, the reasons behind the murder will be clear,” he stated.

The case began on June 18, when a housewife named Sulekha Khatun from Kartikpur West Nimpur area went missing. After the dismembered body was recovered from the agricultural land, her family identified her through her shoes, found nearby. The police officially started the case following a written complaint from Khatun’s family on June 22.