Police in India have arrested a 56-year-old man accused of killing his girlfriend, chopping her up and cooking her remains in an alleged attempt to “hide the evidence.”
Manoj Sahani was arrested June 7 in connection with the death of his live-in girlfriend, 32-year-old Saraswati Vaidya, CBS News reported. The couple had lived together in Mumbai for three years before an argument led to Sahani allegedly murdering Vaidya and attempting to dispose of her body, the outlet stated.
#WATCH | Maharashtra | 32-year-old woman killed by 56-year-old live-in partner | As per Police, the accused Manoj Sahni killed Saraswati Vaidya 3-4 days back and after that, he purchased a tree-cutter to chop her into pieces. Police say that the accused boiled pieces of her body… pic.twitter.com/ilFUfWVOLY
— ANI (@ANI) June 8, 2023
Law enforcement officials were alerted by neighbors Wednesday who complained of a “foul smell” emanating from the couple’s apartment. Upon their arrival, police reportedly discovered human remains stuffed into plastic bags, according to CBS News. (RELATED: ‘No One Helped My Daughter’: 16-Year-Old Girl Stabbed To Death In India As Bystanders Reportedly Filmed)
“When we reached the house and opened the door, we understood it was a case of murder and the suspect tried to hide the evidence,” Jayant Bajbale, a deputy commissioner with Mumbai Police, told reporters, according to the outlet.
Police allege, CBS News reported, that Sahani “bought a tree-cutter and chopped the body. He cooked the body parts in a pressure cooker. He stuffed them in plastic bags with the intention of exhuming them.”
“We recovered 12-13 body parts from the spot,” police reportedly continued.
“Some pieces of the body seem to be missing. We suspect that the accused may have dumped the body pieces gradually in different areas,” Commissioner of Police Shrikant Pathak told AAJ News. It is also believed that Sahani fed some portions of Vaidya’s body to his dogs, according to the outlet.
Sahani has been charged with murder under Indian Penal Code Section 302, as well as destruction of evidence under Indian penal code 201, the outlet stated. If convicted, Sahani faces life in prison or could be sentenced to death, according to the penal code guidelines for murder.
Indian TV news channels aired video of police removing evidence from the apartment in plastic bags.