3 Murders In Three States With Chilling Parallels

A man in Uttar Pradesh has been arrested for allegedly killing a woman, a former girlfriend, and chopping up her body into six pieces, in a case that has chilling similarities with the sensational killing of Shraddha Walkar by her partner Aaftab Poonawala in Delhi.

In another case in West Bengal, a young man allegedly killed his alcoholic and abusive father, cut him up into pieces, and, like Aaftab Poonawala, spent days disposing of the body parts.

Prince Yadav, the alleged killer in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh, was caught in an encounter after he tried to escape police custody on Sunday. The police had taken him to a spot to find the severed head of the woman. He had allegedly concealed a gun that he used in his escape attempt.

Prince Yadav was arrested on Saturday.

The murder was revealed on November 15 when parts of a body were found inside a well outside a village in Azamgarh.

The body was semi-naked and seemed to be about two or three days old, police officer Anurag Arya was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.

The dead woman was identified as Aradhana Prajapati. Her family had already reported her missing after she didn't return home for nearly a week after leaving with Prince Yadav.

Investigations revealed that Prince Yadav had planned to kill Aradhana, whom he had dated two years ago, for marrying someone else earlier this year. He was believed to be abroad at the time of the wedding.

When he found out about his ex getting married, he returned to India and allegedly tried to pressure Aradhana into ending her marriage. When she didn't agree, he decided to kill her, the police said.

Yadav allegedly wanted to dispose of her body in a way that it wouldn't be found and he would never be caught. He was allegedly assisted by his parents, cousin Sarvesh, and other family members.

On November 9, Prince Yadav allegedly took Aradhana on his bike to a temple.

The police said he and his cousin Sarvesh strangled her in a sugarcane field. The two allegedly cut up her body, kept on a wooden log, into six parts, packed the parts in a polythene bag and threw it into a well. They allegedly threw the woman's head into a pond some distance away.

A sharp-edged weapon, a country-made pistol, and a cartridge have been found by the police.

Seven people, who allegedly helped Yadav in the crime, are missing.

The incident comes days after the police arrested 28-year-old Aaftab Poonawala for allegedly strangling his partner in May and sawing her body into 35 pieces, which he kept in a 300-litre fridge for almost three weeks before dumping them in a forest over several days.

In a case from West Bengal, a 55-year-old navy officer was murdered and his body was chopped up into pieces by his son and wife. His son made multiple trips on a bicycle to different places near their house to dispose of the body parts. Both mother and son have been arrested.

The police said the man, who was allegedly abusive with his family, was killed after a violent argument with his son and wife over fees for an exam. After strangling him, the son, along with his mother, planned how to dispose of the body so they would not be caught.