A Pune businessman murdered his wife out of jealousy, drawing inspiration from crime shows. He strangled her, burned the body in a custom-built iron box, and scattered the ashes in a river. He then filed a missing person's report to conceal the crime
In a shocking case that sounds more like the script of a dark Bollywood thriller than real life, a 42-year-old fabrication businessman from Pune's Warje Malwadi allegedly murdered his wife, burned her body in an iron box he built himself, and scattered the ashes in a river, all after drawing “inspiration” from crime novels and TV shows.
Jealousy Turned Into Obsession
According to police, the man suspected his wife, a private school teacher, of having an affair. When he found chat messages on her phone, he became consumed by jealousy. "He confronted her several times and asked her to end the relationship, but she refused. Their fights grew worse over time, and he started plotting her murder," said an investigating officer.
The accused reportedly spent a month planning the crime, binge-watching murder mysteries and reading detective stories to learn how to cover his tracks.
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The Plan And The Murder
"He rented a godown at Gogalwadi Phata near Shindewadi for Rs 18,000 a month," explained Inspector Nilesh Badakh of the Warje Malwadi Police. "There, he built a large iron box and stored two bags of firewood he had bought from Warje. Everything was planned down to the last detail."
On October 26, he took his wife on a drive towards Khed-Shivapur, pretending it was just a casual outing. On the way back, they stopped for some bhel. "While she was eating, he strangled her," Badakh said. "He placed her body inside the iron box, set it on fire, and later threw the ashes into a river. He even cleaned the box and sold it to a scrap dealer."
He returned home that night and behaved as if nothing had happened. For two days, he pretended to search for her before filing a missing person’s complaint on October 28, claiming she had vanished from Warje.
His Lies Began To Unravel
When called for questioning, the man changed his story, saying she went missing from Shindewadi instead. This contradiction raised red flags for the police. The case was transferred to the Rajgad police, but Senior Inspector Vishwajeet Kaingade decided to keep digging.
"Despite the handover, our team kept investigating because something didn’t add up," said Badakh. "We reviewed CCTV footage from Warje to Katraj Ghat and went through his call records. That's when we knew there was more to his story."
The Breakthrough
As investigators pieced together the evidence, the man's calm façade started to crack. Under sustained questioning, he broke down and confessed to the crime. The Warje Malwadi police registered a case under Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder and handed the investigation to the Rajgad police.
A Crime That Feels Straight Out Of A Movie
Investigators said the accused's behaviour after the murder was disturbingly normal, visiting the police station repeatedly to "check on the investigation," trying to ensure no one suspected him.
