A nearly year-long missing person case in Navi Mumbai has turned into a gruesome murder investigation, with police arresting the deceased's wife and her alleged lover for allegedly killing the victim, dismembering his body and dumping the remains in a forest, PTI reported, citing Rabale MIDC Police.
The duo allegedly killed the man in August last year, but the crime came to light recently after the victim's brother raised suspicion about his disappearance. The police then questioned the wife and her lover, who then confessed to killing the husband and throwing the body parts in a forest, the police station house officer stated.
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The victim has been identified as Baliram Suryanath Kushwaha, a 50 year old resident of Airoli, Navi Mumbai, where he lived with his wife Sunita Kushwaha (40 years old) and their two children.
According to investigators, Sunita was involved in an extramarital relationship with Rahul Dashrath Prajapati (30), an autorickshaw driver. Police allege that Baliram came to know about the relationship and objected to it, following which the duo planned a conspiracy to murder him.
On the night of Aug. 9, 2025, after sending the children to a relative's house, the accused allegedly strangled Baliram while he was sleeping and slit his throat, an official stated as cited by PTI.
According to the police, in order to eliminate all traces of the crime, the accused allegedly cut Balira's body into three pieces. The body parts were wrapped in sacks and transported in Prajapati's autorickshaw to the Gawli Dev hill forest, where they allegedly dumped the body parts in separate locations.
Sunita later rented out her family home and moved to Ghansoli in Navi Mumbai with her children, PTI reported.
The murder remained undetected until April 2026, when Baliram's brother visited Sunita and became suspicious of her explanations regarding his brother's absence. He then lodged a missing person's complaint prompting a police investigation.
Police stated that the accused frequently changed their mobile phones and SIM cards to evade the police. However the Call Detail Records (CDR) established constant contact between the two.
Following a sustained interrogation, both Sunita Kushwaha and Rahul Prajapati allegedly confessed to the crime and were arrested on Sunday. They were booked under Section 103 (murder), Section 238 (destruction of evidence) and Section 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the report stated.
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Following the arrest, the accused were produced before a local court which remanded both of them to seven days of police custody.
The police have recovered some of Baliram's remains from the dense Gawli Dev forest. A search operation to locate the remaining body parts is ongoing.
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