Mumbai: The Goregoan police have solved the mysterious case of a woman's body found in a trunk near the Hub mall in Mumbai last week. The victim was murdered by a woman, who suspected her of having an affair with her husband.
The police have arrested Neelam Srivastava, and charged her with the murder of Shilpa Raut.
The victim used to work at a garment shop owned by Neelam's husband Vijaykant in Kurar, Malad (east), five years ago. Apparently, the two were still in touch, even after she had stopped working there.
On June 11, Neelam called Raut at her residence where they had a heated argument over Vijaykant. Neelam strangulated Raut, and then smothered her using a pillow. She covered the body in a sheet, put it in a trunk, and called for a tempo to dispose the body.
DCP Satyanarayan Chowdhary (Zone XII) said, "While on her way, she came across a nakabandi at Santacruz. She asked the driver if the tempo would be checked. When the driver asked why, she said, 'Mere paas ek laash hai'. This scared the driver, and he took a u-turn. He then asked Neelam to get off."
But she forced him to help her dispose the body, by threatening to implicate the driver for murder. Finally, the driver dropped her at the Hub mall in Goregaon. Neelam then left the trunk on the corner of the road, and went back home.
The police started the investigation by questioning Vijaykant, after they came to know that the victim had worked for him. He told police that his wife was jealous of Raut, and suspected that he was having an affair with her.
The police questioned Neelam on Thursday night, and arrested her on Friday morning after she confessed to the crime.