Saraswati Vaidya, the 32-year-old whose body was found in pieces after her murder allegedly by her live-in partner in Mumbai, met him in 2014 at a ration shop.
56-year-old Manoj Sane worked at the shop. They soon started dating and moved in together.
The body of Saraswati Vaidya, who was an orphan, was found scattered in her seventh-floor apartment at Mira Road on Wednesday evening. The police arrived to a horrific sight. Some parts were found in buckets, some were boiled in a cooker.
The fetid stench alerted neighbours to something amiss next door.
Manoj Sane was not married. He has a house in Borivali, where some of his family members live, but he had been staying apart from his family. The ration shop where he worked was also in Borivali. The shop had shut on May 29, he told the police.
Sane and Saraswati Vaidya had lived together in apartment no. 704 for the past five years. Police sources said Sane has told them they used to fight frequently.
The couple largely kept to themselves; many neighbours learnt their names only after the murder.
The murder was revealed when the police broke into the apartment around 7 pm on Wednesday. Saraswati was murdered on Sunday, the police believe.
A neighbour, Somesh Srivastava, had alerted the authorities to the foul smell from the couple's flat. He went to the couple's home to check the source of the odour.."No one opened the door at the first knock. I heard a sound of a spray after which Manoj Sane came out," he said.
"Manoj Sane told me he was going out for some work. I then alerted the building administration and we immediately informed the police," he said.
The decomposing body parts were taken out in plastic bags and bedsheets. "The body parts that were recovered have been sent to the JJ Hospital in Mumbai for analysis. A case of murder has been registered at the Naya Nagar police station," said Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mira Road, Jayant Bajbale.
Sane claimed that his partner had consumed poison and died by suicide.
Featured Video Of The Day
3 Khalistani Terrorists, Who Attacked Punjab Cops, Killed In UP Encounter
Teen Stabs Man To Death After Fight Over Train Seat In Mumbai Man's Body Found In 7 Pieces In A Plastic Bag Near Mumbai's Gorai Beach Mumbai Police Makes 16th Arrest In Baba Siddique Murder Case "Congress Should Be Ready...": Mani Shankar Aiyar's Big INDIA Bloc Remark 3 Marriages, Rs 1.25 Crore: How 'Looting Bride' Targeted Rich Men Bashar Al-Assad's Wife Files For Divorce, Wants To Return To UK: Report 'I Received Billions Of Views': Donald Trump Hints At Keeping TikTok In US "No Chief Minister Face, No Agenda": Arvind Kejriwal Counters BJP Attack 3 Delhi Residents Shot Dead In Haryana's Panchkula, Rivalry Possible Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.