Jharkhand: Man rapes, kills girlfriend; cuts the body into 40 pieces

A 25-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly raping his live-in partner, killing her by strangulation and dismembering her body into at least 40 pieces in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police officials said on Wednesday.

The suspect, Naresh Bhengra, who used to work as a butcher in Tamil Nadu, has admitted to the crime, officials said.

The case came to light about a fortnight after the murder when a stray dog ​​with human body parts was found near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.

Bhengra and the deceased, a 24-year-old woman, also from Khunti, lived together in Tamil Nadu. A few months ago, Bhengra returned to Jharkhand, married another woman without telling his partner and went back to the southern state without his wife joining her.

Inspector Ashok Singh said the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 8 and went to the man’s village.

“As per a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an auto-rickshaw near his house and asked her to wait. He came back with sharp weapons and strangled her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his house to live with his wife,” Singh said.

The woman had informed her mother that she had boarded the train and was going to live with her partner, the police officer said.

The incident took place in a forest near Bhengra’s house in Jordag village of Jariagarh police station. “The man has been arrested,” said Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar.

After recovering body parts, a bag containing the murdered woman’s belongings, including her Aadhaar card, was also found in the forest. The woman’s mother was called to the scene and she identified her daughter’s belongings. “The mother suspected the man behind the crime, who, after being picked up by police, admitted to dismembering the woman,” the official added.

On November 24, a stray dog ​​was spotted with a severed hand, Inspector Singh said.

“Bhengra admitted that he chopped the woman’s body parts into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving them in the forest for wild animals to feast on. Police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog was spotted in the area with a hand,” Singh said.