West Bengal native arrested for murdering wife, burying body in Kerala

Kottayam (Kerala), Oct 19 (PTI) The police arrested a West Bengal native for allegedly murdering his wife and burying her body near an under-construction house at Ayarkunnam here, officials said on Sunday.

The accused has been identified as Soni SK (31), a native of Dharapara in Murshidabad district of West Bengal.

He was working as a construction labourer in Ayarkunnam and was taken into custody from a railway station in Ernakulam while allegedly attempting to flee to his hometown.

Soni is accused of murdering his wife, Alpana Khathoon (28), also of Murshidabad, and burying her near an under-construction house at Ayarkunnam, where the couple worked.

According to police, Soni had lodged a missing persons complaint on October 17, claiming that his wife had gone missing three days earlier.

In his statement, Soni said Khathoon had accompanied him to the market to buy groceries around 8 am on October 14, but was not at home when he returned from work around 6.30 pm.

Police grew suspicious as he reported the incident only after three days.

CCTV footage from the area did not show any trace of the woman, prompting further investigation.

Soni was asked to appear before the police on Saturday, 4 pm, for questioning, but failed to cooperate and reportedly left for Ernakulam to board a train to West Bengal with his two children.

Acting on a tip-off, police detained him and brought him back to Ayarkunnam for interrogation.

Police officials said Soni confessed to murdering Khathoon at a construction site by first strangling her and later hitting her on the head with an iron rod on October 14 morning.

He allegedly buried the body at a place near the workplace, they said.

According to police, Soni murdered Khathoon on suspicion that she was having an extramarital affair.

Later, by around 3 pm, the police took Soni to the place where he had buried Khathoon.

The body was recovered after digging in the area, police said.

On completing the procedure at the crime scene, the accused was shifted to the police station, where his arrest was recorded, police said.

He will be produced before the court as part of the remand procedure later, police added. PTI TBA TBA ROH