Couple among three arrested in Palghar for murder; escape plan goes awry after police suspect foul play

Thane: Three people, including a couple, were arrested for allegedly killing her husband in Virar in neighbouring Palghar district, and trying to dispose of his body, police said on Saturday. The trio was arrested on Friday by the Palghar district rural police. One more accused is on the run. [caption id=“attachment_4841151” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] According to police, the victim Yogesh Raut (32), suspected the fidelity of his 29-year-old wife Ashwini. “The couple, residents of Virar, used to frequently quarrel over the issue. Fed up, Ashwini hatched a conspiracy to eliminate her husband. She sought help of her paramour Raj Arjun and two others to kill him,’’ an official of Palghar district police said. As per the plan, the three men (including the absconding accused) came to Ashwini’s house around 2.00 am yesterday and hit Raut when he was asleep. She used her dupatta to strangulate him, the official said. “After Raut died, his body was wrapped in a cloth and two of the accused men transported it on a scooter to dump it.” A police patrol team spotted the duo transporting the bundle and tried to stop them. However, they gave the police the slip,” the official added. But after going some distance, their scooter skidded and the duo fell off. They fled from the spot leaving the body there, police said. When police untied the bundle, they found a body. After identifying the victim, they called his wife for identification. When questioned, she initially gave evasive replies. However, later she confessed that she, Arjun, one Faizan and another man were involved in the killing. According to police, the woman had paid Rs 1.50 lakh to Arjun’s accomplices as ‘contract money’. After the crime, she had decided to wait till dawn to file a false missing person’s complaint. However, the crime was detected before it, police said. The arrested accused have been booked under different IPC sections, including 302 (murder). Police have launched a search to nab the fourth accused in the case.