MUMBAI: A 28-year-old woman and her boyfriend were arrested by Malwani police on Sunday for allegedly murdering her husband.
Police said the accused—Puja Chavan and Imran Mansuri (26)—slit Rajesh Chavan’s throat in the couple’s house, in the presence of their two minor children, propped up his body on a two-wheeler, and drove for half a kilometre before dumping it.
They then approached Malwani police to register a missing person complaint.
Rajesh worked as a labourer and lived in the Gaondevi temple area in Malad West with Puja, their seven-year-old son and their nine-year-old daughter. Mansuri was Rajesh’s friend—the two hailed from the same hometown in Uttar Pradesh.
A few months ago, Mansuri moved to Mumbai but had no place to stay and no job. Rajesh took him in, offered him food and shelter, and helped him find work. Mansuri, too, was a labourer.
According to police, Mansuri and Puja allegedly had an affair and made a plan to get rid of Rajesh. On Saturday night, they allegedly killed Rajesh and cleaned the bloodstains.
Puja and Mansuri then propped Rajesh up on a two-wheeler, sandwiched between them and wrapped a shawl around him, pretending that he was unwell and was being taken to a doctor.
After driving him for half a kilometre, they panicked and decided to not drive any further. They dumped the body and then went to Malwani police station to lodge a missing person complaint.
Police came across CCTV camera footage of Puja and Mansuri on a two-wheeler with Rajesh between them. When asked where they had taken Rajesh, the two gave conflicting statements. Investigators eventually uncovered the crime.
A police team under supervision of DCP Anand Bhoite and senior inspector Shailendra Nagarkar inspected the couple’s house and came across bloodstains. Their two children are traumatised.