03 February,2017 09:30 AM IST | | Samiullah Khan
The man had suspected his wife of having an affair; deceased's sister caught him in his lie and discovered the decomposed body buried in a pit in the former's Palghar house, covered with cow dung
Sadu Khanjhode with wife Sangita
Sadu Khanjhode with wife Sangita
Two months after a jealous man killed his wife and buried her in their home, the ghost of his crime returned to haunt him. It was the deceased woman's sister who caught him in his lie and discovered the decomposed body hidden in a pit in the house, covered with cow dung.
Frequent rows
Sadu Khanjhode (35) had long suspected that his wife Sangita (30) was cheating on him, and even doubted whether one of his three kids - a seven-year-old daughter - was his. The couple, who lived in Dongripada village in Palghar district, would have frequent rows over this.
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Two months later, Sangita's sister found her body in a pit
On the night of November 30, it was during one such argument that Sadu lost control and assaulted his wife. He choked her to death, and then, fearing he would get caught, he dug a pit in the house and buried her there, covering the body with cow dung to mask the stench of decomposition. The kids slept through it all.
The next morning, Sadu took the kids and left for Vasai, and only returned after two months. A police officer said, "The neighbours knew that both husband and wife were labourers and frequently lived on work sites for days at a time, so no one questioned why the family was not at home. He returned with the children on January 31 and started enquiring with the villagers about his wife. Sadu simply wanted to establish his wife had left him. He also went to his sister-in-law's house that was close by, and asked her if Sangita was there."
In the house, covered with cow dung. Pics/Hanif Patel
Sister's suspicion
His sister-in-law, Lahani, said that since his wife lived with him, he should know where she was. When Sadu said Sangita had left him, his sister-in-law did not believe his story. Earlier, when husband and wife would travel for work, they would leave the kids with her, but that was not what happened this time.
On February 1, Lahani gathered the villagers and took them to Sadu's house when he wasn't there. They spotted a pit covered with cow dung and grew suspicious. Still not entirely able to believe that Sadu killed his wife, they confided in him and told him to go to the Talashri police station with them so they could find Sangita.
When the police arrived at the murder scene, they dug up the pit and recovered Sangita's decomposed body. Sadu broke down and confessed to having killed his wife after an argument about the paternity of their daughter.
Additional Superintendent of Police, Palghar district, BG Yashod said, "We arrested Sadu on charges of murder on February 1. He was produced in the court and remanded to police custody for seven days. Investigations are underway."
