Madhya Pradesh: Woman kills husband, buries body in kitchen & continues cooking

BHOPAL: A woman in a village of Anuppur district allegedly strangled her lawyer husband, buried his body in the kitchen, built a mud stove over it and calmly cooked for 10 days before neighbours came around asking why they hadn’t seen him for a long time.
Accused Pratima Banawal, a mother of four, was led away by police cradling her youngest, a newborn. She has told investigators that she killed her husband because he had an affair with his elder brother’s wife.Her brother-in-law aided in the murder, she said.
The victim, 40-year-old Mohit Banawal, practised in Rajendragram court and lived in Karoda Tola village of Anuppur district, close to the Chhattisgarh border. He was reported missing on November 11. Mohit and his elder brother Ganaram Banawal’s families lived together in the same house.
“The accused has admitted in her statement that her husband had illegal relations with his sister-in-law, and this irked her and Ganaram, so they killed Mohit,” said Anuppur SP Kiranlata Kerketta.
“Pratima said that she first mixed a drug in her husband’s food and he became unconscious after eating it. Then she and her husband’s elder brother strangled him with wires. They ued wires to tie his hands and legs and buried the body under the floor where food was cooked. They smoothed it over, built mud stoves on it and Pratima continued cooking on the same spot till November 21, when the body was exhumed,” the SP said. Going by the soot marks on the wall and the position of the body, the stove was positioned right above his head.
Villagers began asking around for Mohit. “On Thursday, some villagers called a meeting at Banawals’ home as Mohit was missing for so many days. During that meeting, Pratima was reluctant to allow anyone into her kitchen. It made villagers suspicious and some of them barged in,” the SP said. They noticed that the floor arond the mud stoves seemed to be freshly dug up. “Some of the men inserted a rod in the mud floor, and a foul smell immediately broke out. Shocked, the villagers informed police and the body was exhumed,” she added.
The autopsy has confirmed strangulation, the SP said. Police have seized the tools used to dig the pit. “Pratima claims that she executed the crime with the help of her brother-in-law, but he is yet to be arrested as further investigations are on,” said the SP.