Man, wife who dumped friend’s chopped body held

Ludhiana: Ludhiana Police on Friday arrested a man and his wife for the brutal murder of a 35-year-old man whose dismembered body was recovered from an abandoned plot near the Jalandhar Bypass, officials said.

The deceased, Davinder, returned from Mumbai a few days ago, where he worked at a printing and graphic design shop. He stayed at his house for about 15 minutes before leaving and did not return thereafter, they said.

According to Additional DCP Sameer Verma, the prime accused, Shamsher and Davinder were close friends and had consumed some intoxicants together on Wednesday.

An argument reportedly erupted between them, following which Shamsher, a carpenter by profession, allegedly attacked him with a sharp-edged weapon available at the spot, killing him instantly, he said.

Later, in an attempt to conceal the crime, Shamsher and his wife allegedly dismembered the body, packed the remains in a sack and disposed of them at different locations.

The mutilated body of the victim was later found chopped into several pieces, with portions dumped inside a drum at a vacant plot falling under the jurisdiction of the Salem Tabri area here on Thursday, the police said.

While one part of the body, which was recovered about one kilometre away from the drum, had already begun decomposing. Police have also recovered the weapon used in the murder. The officer said that the wife’s involvement was limited to helping dispose of the body, allegedly out of fear that the crime would come to light.