Bhopal: Days after a man killed his live-in partner and dumped her body in a garbage truck in Bengaluru, a similar crime has been reported from Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
In the macabre incident, 32-year-old Sachin Rajput, not only killed his live-in partner Ritika Sen (29), but also wrapped her body in a blanket and slept beside it for two nights – all the while pretending that nothing has happened.
The murder took place in Bhopal’s Gayatri Nagar on the night of June 27, following a heated argument. Rajput, jobless and consumed by jealousy, suspected Ritika, who worked in a private firm, of having an affair with her boss. The argument turned violent, and in a fit of rage, he strangled her.
Rajput then carefully wrapped the body in a sheet, left it on the bed – and stayed in the same room. According to police, he slept next to the body for two days. He drank heavily during this period.
On Sunday, drunk and unstable, Rajput confessed the murder to his friend Anuj in the Misrod area of Bhopal. Initially, Anuj did not believe him. But when Rajput said the same thing the next day, Anuj informed the police at around 5 pm on Monday.
When Bajaria police reached the rented house, they found Ritika’s decomposing body, still wrapped in the same blanket, lying on the bed – just as Rajput had described.
“They had been in a live-in relationship for the last three and a half years,” the police said.
NDTV has quoted Badaria police station in-charge Shilpa Kaurav as saying: “The woman has been identified as Ritika Sen. She was living with her boyfriend, Sachin Rajput, who is married and has two children. On the night of June 27, the two had a fight. The fight escalated, and Rajput strangulated her. He wrapped the body and continued staying in the same room. In a drunken state, he told his friend what he had done. When the friend realised it wasn’t a joke, he informed the police.”
Rajput is from Sironj in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. Ritika and he had moved into the Gayatri Nagar residence around 9 months ago. While Ritika continued working, Sachin remained unemployed and became increasingly suspicious of her.
Rajput has been arrested and charged with murder. Ritika’s post-mortem report is awaited.