Man murders live-in partner in Maharashtra's Palghar, stuffs body in mattress

After a 25-year-old woman Nikki Yadav's body was found in a freezer at a dhaba located on the outskirts of Najafgarh's Mitraon village, another spine-chilling incident of murder has come to notice from Maharashtra's Palghar district. 

A 37-year-old man from Maharashtra's Palghar district has killed his live-in partner and stuffed her body in a mattress. After he strangulated his female partner, a case of murder was registered against him on Tuesday at Tulnij police station in the Palghar district of Maharashtra. 

The dead body of the victim, who is identified as Megha Shah (40), was found in the Sita Sadan building situated on Nalasopara East, Tulinj Road. The police officials sent the deceased body for an autopsy to reveal hidden facts related to the case. 

A case against the accused, Hardik, has been filed under section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to sources, the murder came under the spotlight when the cops were informed about the matter by people living in their neighbourhood. They called the police after experiencing an extreme foul smell coming out of the apartment.

The police detained the accused on Tuesday with the help of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel from a train in Madhya Pradesh. According to police officials, the victim was a nurse by profession and the accused was an unemployed person. The two have been in a relationship for the past six months. 

While talking with the Republic, Senior Police Inspector, Tulinj Police Station, Shailendra Nagarkar, said: "The accused is an educated unemployed person and his partner was working as a nurse. As the accused was not working, there was always an argument between the two.  It has come to light that she was killed due to this dispute."

Similar cases in the past 

The Palghar incident comes days after a similar incident was reported in New Delhi. A 25-year-old woman Nikki Yadav's body was found in a freezer at a dhaba located on the outskirts of Najafgarh's Mitraon village. 

According to sources, the deceased was murdered by her long-time boyfriend Sahil Gehlot as he strangulated her using a mobile cable. The entire incident has similarities to the Shraddha murder case in which the victim was also strangulated, chopped off, and disposed of by her boyfriend Aaftab Poonawala on May 18, 2022.