Palghar: Man held for killing live-in partner over marriage insistence

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A 22-year-old woman was reportedly strangled to death by her live-in partner in Maharashtra's Palghar district after she insisted on marrying him. The culprit, a 26-year-old man called Minazuddin Abdul Ajij Mulla, was captured in West Bengal, where both the victim and the accused were from, days after the murder was found.

The crime was revealed on March 15 when the woman's decaying body was discovered in a rented room in Dahanu, Palghar district. The case was initially considered an accidental death, but after the autopsy showed death by strangling, it was transformed into a murder inquiry, reported PTI.

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According to the PTI report, the culprit, known by the pseudonym Ravindra Reddy, was tracked down in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district. He had rented a room in Dahanu under this bogus identity, posing as the victim's wife.

Addressing media on Friday, District Superintendent of Police Balasaheb Patil, per the PTI report, said, "The woman, Anisha Barasta Khatun, was found dead on March 15 in a room located in a chawl at Dahanu where she lived with her live-in partner, who was untraceable. The police sent her body for post-mortem and initially registered a case of accidental death."

"However, the autopsy report confirmed that the death was caused by strangulation. After that, it was converted into a case of murder," he added.

"Soon, a police team was formed with Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dahanu division) Ankita Kanse leading the investigation," DSP added.

Another official further added, "During the probe, the police found that accused Mulla hailed from West Bengal and adopted the name Ravindra Reddy to get a room in Dahanu on rent and pretended that the victim was his wife."

Neighbours expressed worry about a terrible odour originating from the room, which led to the discovery of the woman's death. A police squad was deployed to West Bengal, and after a week of thorough searches, the offender was caught.

A team from the Dahanu police station was sent to West Bengal to trace and nab the accused. After seven days of persistent efforts, they apprehended Mulla in the early hours of March 22, a police official said, per the report.

According to Additional Superintendent of Police Pankaj Shirsat, the accused confessed to the crime, saying he killed the victim because she insisted on marrying him, which he refused, the PTI report stated.

Mulla was arrested and put in police detention till April 2 by a Palghar court.