The chilling discovery was made on Monday evening, following complaints of a foul stench by local residents.
Representational Image
A gruesome and meticulously planned murder has jolted this Chhattisgarh capital after police recovered the decomposed body of an unidentified man from a cement-filled suitcase locked inside a steel trunk, abandoned in the bushes near Indraprastha Colony Phase-2. The chilling discovery was made on Monday evening, following complaints of a foul stench by local residents.
According to police sources, the odor had been spreading through the area since early afternoon. By evening, residents traced the smell to a steel trunk abandoned in dense vegetation. Inside it, police found a suitcase tightly packed with cement, concealing the body of a young man.
Advertisement
Forensic experts later confirmed that the victim’s throat had been slit with a sharp weapon. His hands and legs were tied, and the body had been contorted to fit into the suitcase, a clear sign of premeditated murder.
Advertisement
CCTV footage from the vicinity proved critical. Around 9:30 am on Sunday, an old Alto with a tampered number plate was spotted near the scene. The plate, marked CG 04 B-7700, was found to belong to a 2005 Hyundai Santro, indicating an attempt to mislead investigators. Two individuals were seen unloading the trunk, while a third person on an electric vehicle nearby is also under scrutiny.
In a major breakthrough, the police traced the steel trunk to Shabbir Steel Trunk Factory in Raipur’s Golbazar area. The shopkeeper informed the police that a man and woman, between 25 and 30 years old, respectively, purchased a heavy-duty trunk on Sunday morning and paid online under the name Shivani Sharma. The trunk was delivered to Indraprastha Colony via auto rickshaw.
The victim has since been identified as Kishore Paikra. Investigations revealed that the murder was conspired by Ankit Upadhyay, a practicing lawyer and the son of a retired ASI, with help from his wife Shivani Sharma. The couple was captured on CCTV transporting the body and later fleeing from Raipur to Delhi.
Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Lal Umed Singh, confirming the arrests, told The Statesman, “The accused were attempting to escape when they were tracked down and arrested in Delhi by a special team of the Chhattisgarh Police, with assistance from the Delhi Police. Both are now in custody. The Raipur Police is committed to maintaining law and order and will not spare any criminal or anti-social element.”
Despite the advanced state of decomposition, forensic evidence is being analysed and corroborated with missing persons records from Raipur and surrounding districts. The proximity of the crime scene, just 100 metres from residential homes, has left the community deeply shaken.
The case bears striking resemblance to a similar incident in Meerut earlier this year, where a woman, along with her lover, murdered her husband, dismembered the body, and concealed it in a cement-filled drum inside their home. With key suspects in custody, police are now piecing together the motive and timeline of events. Further revelations are expected as interrogation and forensic analysis progress.
Advertisement
