Kolkata: The Bhopal police recovered the body of a young woman from Bankura which was kept in a steel trunk buried inside a concrete tomb in the kitchen of her live-in partner’s house. The live-in partner, Udayan Das, was arrested by the police in connection with the murder.
The victim, 28-year-old Akansha Sharma, had left her rented home at Rabindrapally last June, telling her parents she was going to the US where she had got a job. However, it later came to light that she never went to the US, but moved in with Das in his Saket Nagar home in Bhopal. Das is an IIT graduate, sources said.
On Friday, superintendent of police (Bankura) Sukhendu Hira said, “The woman lied to her parents and travelled to New Delhi with Udayan (Das) who took her to Bhopal. We later tracked her calls and found the tower locations revealing the route of her journey.” In October, Das had visited Akansha’s family and inquired after her.
While living with Das, Akansha had still stayed in touch with her family — which is originally from Bihar — through SMSes and WhatsApp till December. After being unable to contact his daughter for a long time, bank manager Shivendra Sharma lodged a complaint with the police on January 5, accusing Das of kidnapping her.
Meanwhile, according to the police, differences cropped up between Akansha and Das as he started suspecting her of having affair with someone else. During an altercation, Das allegedly strangled her to death. “The accused packed the body in a trunk, which was later cemented with marble. Udayan used to perform puja on the structure,” the police said.
On Thursday afternoon, a team of police personnel from Bankura police and Bhopal’s Gobinda Nagar jointly raided Das’s rented house. The body was recovered at around 6 am after a night-long search. Das was arrested, and during interrogation, he confessed to the murder. The police suspected that the murder took place a long time ago.
According to the police, the duo had met on Facebook around eight months ago and became friends. Soon after, they entered into a relationship. Das’s father wroked at a Central PSU, while his mother retired as a deputy superintendent of police in Chhattisgarh. Das is being brought on a transit remand to Bankura.
