AHMEDABAD: Two lovers have been arrested for allegedly murdering an elderly man in an elaborate elopement scheme in Gujarat's Patan district.
"The accused — Geeta Ahir, a married woman, and her paramour Bharat Ahir — devised a plot reminiscent of a crime thriller, taking direct inspiration from the film Drishyam,” stated a Patan police official in an official press release.
The release stated that Geeta was in an extramarital relationship with Bharat and was looking for a way to escape her marriage.
"Rather than simply eloping, the duo allegedly orchestrated an elaborate scheme to fake Geeta’s death in order to avoid suspicion and any potential pursuit by her family or community," the release said.
"The motive behind the act was to mislead Geeta’s family into believing that she had died by suicide, thereby allowing the pair to sever all existing ties and start a new life together, free from any trace or accountability," the release concluded.
A police official said that investigation revealed that Geeta had conviced Bharat to murder an unidentified individual, dress the victim’s body in women’s clothing and jewellery to resemble her, and then burn the body beyond recognition.
Bharat lured Harji Solanki—an elderly villager with no connection to their love affair—and strangled him to death. Bharat then transported the body on a motorcycle to Geeta's backyard. There, the duo dressed the corpse in Geeta's clothes and jewellery, doused it in petrol, and set it on fire.
However, the body did not burn completely.
Geeta’s husband filed a missing person’s report the same night, initiating a swift police probe.
Forensic clues and glaring holes in the suspects’ stories cracked the case wide open. The half-charred corpse was soon identified as Harji Solanki, and the fabricated suicide unraveled thread by thread.
With the noose tightening, the fugitive pair tried to make a run for it. But the couple was nabbed at Palanpur railway station, just before they could flee to Rajasthan.
Now in custody, the couple will now face the court on Thursday.