Highly decomposed body of woman found in suitcase in drain in Punjabi Bagh

Police said the woman was murdered and put into a bag somewhere else and later dumped in a drain in Punjabi Bagh

A highly decomposed body of an unidentified woman was found in a suitcase in a drain in Punjabi Bagh on Wednesday afternoon.

A police officer said they received a control room call alerting them that a suitcase had been found from which a foul smell was emanating. (AFP)

Deputy commissioner of police (west) Ghanshyam Bansal said a case under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered and teams have been formed to work on the case.

A police officer said they received a control room call alerting them that a suitcase had been found from which a foul smell was emanating, after which a team of police officers reached the spot and pulled it out of the drain with the help of local divers. “When the suitcase was opened, a highly decomposed body of a woman was found inside,” the officer said.

Crime and forensic teams were called to the spot and the body was sent to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital for autopsy. “It appeared that the body was not mutilated before being stuffed inside the bag, but the decomposition may have led to some amount of disfiguring. The woman was murdered and put into the bag somewhere else but the suitcase was dumped here, it appears,” the officer said, adding that the cause of death will be ascertained after the autopsy.

A local resident, Neetu Devi, a house help, said, “The suitcase was black in colour and when people looked inside it, after the police opened it, it appeared as if the body had been cut into many pieces.”

Another investigator said multiple teams have been formed to ascertain the identity of the woman. “We will check CCTV footage from the area. Local intelligence is being gathered and missing person reports are also being scanned from here and nearby areas,” the officer said.