Mumbai murder: Man hired to tile over grave didn’t know he was burying his own brother

(From left) Deceased Vijay Chauhan, his wife Komal Chauhan, and her lover Monu

The woman and her lover, accused of killing and burying her husband inside their home in Nalasopara, Palghar district, had called the victim’s elder brother to lay new tiles over the spot where the body was hidden, Hindustan Times reported.

The deceased, Vijay Chauhan, had been missing for several days. When his brother Ajay Chauhan could not reach him over the phone, he became suspicious. On visiting Vijay’s house, Ajay noticed a strong foul smell. That’s when things started to unfold.

Ajay (34), a daily wage labourer, later found out he had unknowingly helped cover up his brother’s grave. “I did not know I was burying my own brother,” Ajay was quoted by HT as saying.

After murdering Vijay, his wife, Gudiya Devi, also known as Chaman, dug a pit in their house and buried her husband. Gudiya called Ajay a few days ago and told him Vijay had left the house in anger. “She told me the tiles in their house were removed to work on some pipeline and asked me to come over to fix it,” said Ajay.

According to the police, Gudiya murdered Vijay around July 5 or 6 with the help of her lover, Monu Vishwakarma. When Ajay asked about Vijay’s whereabouts, Gudiya claimed he had left for Kandivali for work with a new phone. But when Ajay checked with Vijay’s workplace, he found that his brother had quit his job more than a week earlier.

Things escalated when another brother, Akhilesh, filed a missing person complaint. The police then dug up the tiled area in the house and recovered Vijay’s decomposed body. Gudiya had also told Akhilesh that Vijay had gone to Kurla for work.

On Tuesday, the police arrested Gudiya and Monu from Hadapsar in Pune. They were brought to court on Wednesday and sent to police custody for seven days.

“We have arrested the couple and sent the body for forensic analysis to determine the cause of death, as we haven’t recovered any murder weapon yet. We are investigating the motive and exact sequence of events,” HT quoted Suhas Bavche, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Pelhar, as saying.