Another married woman fell victim to a spine-chilling murder at the hands of her husband, after the former killed her, chopped off her head and fingers, and stored the severed body parts in a refrigerator at their rented accommodation in Assam’s Guwahati, police reported on Monday.

The accused, identified as Ramanujan Goswami, a native of Gauripur in Dhubri district, hacked his wife Riya Talikdar to death, and fled the house. However, he later surrendered at the Hatigaon police station and confessed to the crime, following which he was arrested, as per police. 

Foul odour troubles neighbours, police make grisly discovery

As per police, the ghastly incident unfolded at a rented house in the city’s Basisthapur area. The incident came to light on Sunday after neighbours of the couple experienced a foul smell emanating from the locked house and raised an alarm with the police.

The cops rushed to the scene and broke the door open, to find Riya’s severed head wrapped in a black polythene bag and kept inside the refrigerator. Some of her fingers had also been chopped off, the investigating police personnel said. 

Soon after this, a forensic team arrived at the scene and collected evidence. According to a preliminary probe, Riya had been murdered at least 24 hours before she was found dead. The couple’s neighbours told the police that the couple had an altercation on Saturday night and that screams were heard from the house. 

Goswami allegedly locked the room later from outside and left. Cops from the Hatigaon police station said, “The locals told us that the husband left the house alone, locked the door from outside, which was suspicious. Later they said that foul odour came from the house and based on that information we started investigating.” 

Murder case registered

Police have registered a case under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including Section 103(1), pertaining to murder. Goswami is currently being interrogated at the police station as the cops try to piece together the sequence of events and establish the motive behind the murder. 

Riya worked at a boutique in the AC Market area of Fancy Bazar, while Ramanujan worked as a cab operator, the police came to know. According to Riya’s kin, she and Goswami had been in a relationship for several years, and tied the knot last year. The family has alleged that Goswami had a history of domestic violence and had spent three months at a rehabilitation centre earlier this year. 

Cause of death to be established after autopsy report

Police said the evidence collected from the crime scene was being examined, besides the inspection of Goswami’s behavioural history as part of the probe. Meanwhile, Riya’s body has been sent to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) for a post-mortem examination. 

Police said the exact timeline and the cause of death shall be established only after the post-mortem report arrives.