India: Man studies murder mysteries to kill wife, get rid of body. His phone gives him away

It reads like something out of a crime novel, this case. A man in Pune who suspected his wife of cheating on him, killed her, burnt her remains and got rid of the evidence, reports Times of India. He then made a mistake… he reported her missing to the police.

Here’s what happened:

A 42-year-old businessman in Pune suspected his wife, who worked as a teacher, of having an affair. He apparently confronted her but she refused to end said romance. Angry and out for vengeance, the man began to research ways to get rid of her. He became obsessed with crime novels and murder mysteries, and started to concoct a plan for a kill. It took him about a month to plan his next steps.

Inspector Nilesh Badakh from the Warje Malwadi police was quoted as saying by Times Of India: “"He watched murder mystery films and crime TV shows to gather ideas. He then rented a godown [warehouse] at Gogalwadi Phata near Shindewadi for Rs18,000 per month. Located about 2km from the main road, the godown became the site of his plan. He built a iron box and stored it there, along with two bags of wood he purchased from Warje.”

Next, he set out to 'make-up' with his wife. It was Oct 26. He took her for a drive, claiming he wanted to reconnect. He bought her some street snacks and afterwards stopped at the warehouse under some pretense.

“While she was eating, he strangulated her and placed her body in the iron box, set it on fire and later, disposed of the ashes in a river,” the officer went on. He then cleaned the box and sold it to a scrap dealer.

Next, he went home and pretended nothing was wrong. A day or two went by, and then he started behaving anxious about his ‘missing spouse’. Finally, two days in, he filed a missing person’s report.

Soon, he began to insinuate himself in the case, making repeated visits to the officials.

At first, the authorities were baffled. But their investigations – including viewing CCTV footage and call records – were suspicious. “[It eventually helped us crack the case],” they told Times of India.