Ex-Army man killed, cut into 6 pieces by wife and her lover in UP; four arrested

In a chilling crime that has shocked Uttar Pradesh yet again, a 62-year-old retired Army personnel was brutally murdered and dismembered by his wife and her lover, with the help of two accomplices, in Ballia district, police said on Tuesday, according to a PTI report.

The victim, Devendra Kumar, was allegedly killed at his residence in the Bahadurpur locality by his wife Maya Devi, 44 and her partner Anil Yadav, a truck driver. The gruesome act was carried out with the assistance of Mithilesh Patel and Satish Yadav, Ballia Superintendent of Police Omveer Singh told reporters.

VIDEO | UP: Retired soldier murdered over love-affair, wife among four arrested in Ballia. Here's what SP Omvir Singh said:"On May 10, a woman filed a missing person report, claiming her husband had gone to Buxar to pick up their daughter but never returned. However, an pic.twitter.com/KWlN8KgrMk

Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) May 13, 2025

The incident came to light on Saturday when locals discovered severed limbs wrapped in plastic near a field in Khareed village under the Sikandarpur Police Station limits. Police investigations later led to the recovery of the victim’s torso from a well in nearby Khareed Darauli village.

Initially, Maya Devi filed a missing person’s report on May 10 at Ballia City Kotwali Police Station, claiming her husband had gone to Buxar to fetch their daughter but never returned, as per the PTI report. However, her version began to unravel when their daughter, Ambli Gautam, came forward with a startling revelation — accusing her mother of murdering her father.

Superintendent Singh told reporters that Maya Devi eventually confessed to the crime during interrogation. “Our investigation found that the victim’s phone location had never left the area, contradicting Maya Devi’s claims,” Singh said. “She was in an extramarital relationship with Anil Yadav and the murder was plotted and executed with his help and that of his two associates.”

The police believe Devendra Kumar was killed inside his home before his body was hacked into six pieces — both arms, legs, the torso and the head. The group then dumped the dismembered parts at various locations to delay identification and mislead the probe.

The investigation further took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when Anil Yadav and Satish Yadav were intercepted at a checkpoint near Town Polytechnic in Parikhara. The duo opened fire on the police team, prompting a retaliatory response during which Anil Yadav was shot in the leg. He is currently undergoing treatment at the district hospital.

From the scene, police recovered a country-made pistol, a live round and a spent cartridge. The weapon allegedly used in the murder was also seized from Satish Yadav.

All four accused — Maya Devi, Anil Yadav, Mithilesh Patel and Satish Yadav — have been arrested.

The murder adds to a disturbing pattern of gruesome domestic killings across Uttar Pradesh in recent months. In March, a woman and her lover killed a former merchant navy officer in Meerut, stuffing his body into a drum filled with cement. In another case in April, a woman in Deoria and her partner chopped her husband’s body in half and abandoned it in a suitcase. Last month in Auraiya, a man was murdered just 15 days after his wedding, allegedly by his wife and her lover who had hired a contract killer.