Bathinda, February 14 A 35-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly murdering a woman whose partially burned body was found stuffed in a suitcase near Behman Diwana on the Bathinda-Fazilka Highway, police said on Saturday.
The victim, identified as Sapna, also known as Malika, was a native of Baghapurana in Moga district and had been living in Bathinda. Her body was recovered on February 11.
The accused, Prince Kumar, allegedly stabbed Sapna to death at his residence on Surkhpeer Road on February 9, police said, adding that the two were friends. Kumar kept the woman's body at his house for two days before disposing of it, they said.
According to investigators, Sapna was at Kumar's residence on February 9. After the murder, he allegedly attempted to burn her body, but later stuffed the partially burned remains in a suitcase.
He transported the bag in his car and dumped it on the highway on the intervening night of February 10 and 11.
Police have recovered the knife allegedly used in the crime and the car used to dispose of the body.
Bathinda Senior Superintendent of Police Jyoti Yadav Bains said the accused was living alone and appears to have acted alone. The motive behind the crime is yet to be established, she added.
Investigators traced the suspect using CCTV camera footage from the Parasram Nagar area, which showed the victim with the accused on February 7 – the last day she was seen alive.
Technical analysis of the victim's phone records led police to question 15 individuals before focusing on Kumar.
