In a shocking incident, a 45-year-old man beheaded a 30-year-old woman and chopped her body into pieces before dumping them at different locations in Budgam district of central Kashmir.
Shabir Ahmed Wani, the accused, killed the woman at his residence in Mohanpora area of Budgam. She was a resident of Soibugh in the district, said police.
The motive behind the murder remains unclear, said authorities.
Wani, a carpenter by profession, killed the woman on March 7, according to local officials.
The victim’s relatives alleged that Wani had earlier approached her family with a proposal of marriage with one of his relatives but she had turned it down. Her family alleged that he had been visiting the victim’s house for construction-related work.
The accused said that he lost self-respect after the woman turned down the marriage proposal.
Her brother had lodged a missing person complaint with the police on March 8.
“Tanveer Ahmad Khan, brother of the woman, had stated that his sister, aged 30, left for coaching classes on March 7 but didn’t return home. In this regard, a missing report was filed and an investigation was taken up,” said police.
During the investigation, police rounded up several suspects including Shabir Ahmad Wani. “After sustained interrogation, Shabir confessed to having murdered the missing girl. To hide his crime, the culprit cut her body into pieces and buried them at different locations,” according to police.
On his disclosure, the parts were recovered on Saturday evening from different locations near Budgam railway station, said a police official, adding that the victim’s body was handed over to her family for last rights on Sunday morning after completing medico-legal formalities.
Meanwhile, locals gathered in large numbers at the victim’s house and raised slogans demanding capital punishment for the accused.
A similar gruesome murder was reported in Delhi last year when a man named Aaftab Poonawalla killed her girlfriend Shraddha Walker and chopped her body into pieces. He later stored them in a fridge before dumping the parts one by one in a nearby forest area. A number of copycat incidents have been reported from other states in recent months.