Jaipur: Sriganganagar police Monday arrested a woman and her male companion for allegedly murdering her husband and dumping his body in a canal, while a 15-year-old boy accused of being part of the conspiracy was detained. The victim, 32-year-old Bhajanlal, a furniture craftsman from village 4 ZWM in the Gharsana area of Sriganganagar district, was reported missing before his body was recovered on Feb 2 from the Indira Gandhi Canal in the Nokh region of Phalodi district, around 270 km from his home. Police said the body had drifted for days before being found. SP Amrita Duhan said the killing was premeditated and allegedly linked to an affair. Bhajanlal’s wife, Indra Devi (30), was allegedly in a long-running relationship with Prabhu Dayal (33), a daily wage labourer from the same village, and the two allegedly planned to eliminate Bhajanlal. According to police, on Jan 16, Bhajanlal was riding his motorcycle towards Gharsana when Prabhu Dayal and the minor allegedly intercepted him on the outskirts of the village, assaulted him with sticks and strangled him with a rope. Police said Indra Devi remained in contact with Prabhu Dayal by phone during the attack. Investigators said the accused then placed Bhajanlal on his motorcycle and took him about 15-km to the canal. “Near the canal bank, Bhajanlal regained consciousness, after which Prabhu Dayal and the minor struck his head with a brick, killing him, and threw both the body and the motorcycle into the canal to destroy evidence,” a police official said. Police said suspicion fell on Indra Devi soon after Bhajanlal went missing. Call detail records allegedly showed frequent communication between her and Prabhu Dayal around the time of the murder, and the alleged conspiracy emerged during interrogation. The accused have been booked for murder, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, and involving a minor in a heinous crime.
