A 28-year-old cab operator from Assam’s Guwahati was arrested on Monday for allegedly chopping off his wife’s head, police said, adding that the severed head was recovered from a refrigerator at his rented residence in Guwahati’s Beltola area.
The deceased identified as Riya Talukdar, hails from Guwahati’s Noonmati, while her husband, Ramanujan Goswami, who hails from Dhubri’s Gauripur, was arrested, police said.
He initially fled the crime scene but later surrendered to the police at Hatigaon police station following which he was arrested.
The incident took place at a rented house in the Basisthapur area. The matter came to light after neighbours noticed a foul odour emanating from the locked house on Sunday night and alerted the police.
Police searched the house and found Riya’s severed head placed inside a black polythene bag, in the refrigerator. Along with the head, some of the victim’s fingers were also found severed, police said.
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A forensic team from the Guwahati police collected evidence at the scene. Initial findings suggest Riya was killed at least 24 hours before her severed head was found, police said.
{{/usCountry}}A forensic team from the Guwahati police collected evidence at the scene. Initial findings suggest Riya was killed at least 24 hours before her severed head was found, police said.
{{/usCountry}}According to neighbours, the couple got into a fight on Saturday night and screams were heard from their house, but Ramanujan later locked the room from outside and left the house, police said.
“The locals told us that the husband left the house alone, locked the door from outside, which was suspicious. Later they said that foul odour came from the house and based on that information we started investigating,” officers of Hatigaon Police Station said.
Police have registered a case under multiple sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including 103 (1) (murder), against him. Goswami is undergoing questioning at the police station and police are tryin to find the motive behind the murder.
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According to police, Riya worked at a boutique in the AC Market area of Fancy Bazar. Both her parents had passed away and her brother lives in Noonmati in Guwahati.
According to Riya’s family members, before marrying Goswami last year, the two were in a relationship for several years. The family said that Goswami has a history of domestic violence and he spent approximately three months at a rehabilitation centre earlier this year.
Police said that they have collected the related evidence from the crime scene and the details of Goswami’s behavioural history are being examined.
Riya’s body has been sent to the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for a post-mortem examination and the exact timeline and cause of death will be established once the report comes, police said.