BENGALURU: Bengaluru police have arrested a 22-year-old migrant labourer from
Bihar for allegedly murdering his 25-year-old wife and dumping her body in a stormwater drain over suspicions of infidelity, officials said on Thursday.
The accused has been identified as Mohammad Irfaj, while the victim was identified as Ruksana. Both were natives of Bihar, news agency ANI reported.
According to police, the couple had married around a year ago. Ruksana was previously married and had a child from her first marriage.
The two reportedly fell in love while selling balloons in Bihar and moved to Bengaluru around six months ago, where Irfaj found work at a local garment factory.
Police said their relationship had become strained in recent months, with Irfaj suspecting Ruksana of having an affair because she allegedly spoke frequently to someone over the phone. The couple often quarrelled over the issue, ANI reported.
The dispute allegedly turned violent on October 10, when Irfaj attacked Ruksana with a stone, killing her on the spot, investigators said. He then allegedly stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth.
To conceal the crime, the accused allegedly broke the handle lock of an unattended motorcycle parked nearby.
He stuffed Ruksana's body into a bag, placed it between the handlebars, pushed the vehicle to the Gopalapura drainage area and dumped the body into the stormwater drain.
On October 13, the body, wrapped in a plastic cover, was found in the drain. Police were initially unable to identify the victim.
The Magadi Road police subsequently formed more than 10 teams to conduct extensive door-to-door verification and cross-check recent missing person complaints in the locality, ANI reported.
During the inquiry, local residents informed police that a woman living in Gopalapura had been missing for several days. This led to Irfaj being questioned.
According to police, the accused allegedly confessed during interrogation.
Further investigation is underway, and more details are awaited.
(With agency inputs)