AHMEDABAD: What first appeared to be a tragic drowning in Gujarat’s Mahisagar district has turned into a chilling murder case, with police alleging that a woman was strangled to death in a planned conspiracy led by her minor daughter and the daughter’s lover after the mother opposed their relationship.
In a shocking development from Mahisagar district, police have cracked the mystery surrounding the body of a woman found floating in Naka Lake in Kothamba a few days ago, exposing what investigators describe as a cold blooded and carefully plotted murder.
Investigators said the victim, a resident linked to a village in Panchmahal district, had arranged the marriage of her minor daughter elsewhere.
However, the daughter was in a relationship with a young man identified as Kamlesh, and both strongly opposed the alliance.
As tensions within the family deepened, the couple decided to eliminate what they saw as the biggest obstacle the girl’s own mother.
Police said Kamlesh had repeatedly tried to disrupt the proposed marriage earlier as well. When those efforts failed, the duo moved towards a more sinister plan.
According to investigators, the minor daughter encouraged her lover to “remove” her mother so they could marry on their own terms.
The conspiracy widened further when Jayesh, an acquaintance of the deceased woman, joined the accused. Police said Jayesh also held a personal grudge against the victim, making him a willing participant in the murder plot.
Acting on the plan, the woman was lured late at night to a millet field. Once she arrived, the waiting accused attacked her and strangled her using a shoelace. After the killing, the accused worked swiftly to erase evidence and mislead investigators.
To stage the crime as an accident, the body was transported nearly 18 kilometres on a motorcycle before being dumped into Naka Lake in Kamalpur. Police believe the intention was to make the death appear as a drowning so the accused could escape suspicion.
However, the plan began to unravel when police examined the body and noticed suspicious injury marks around the neck, immediately raising doubts about accidental death. That clue prompted a deeper investigation.
Under the guidance of Mahisagar SP Safin Hasan, Kothamba Police and his team launched an intensive probe.
Using technical surveillance, local intelligence and field-level questioning, officers pieced together the sequence of events and solved the case within days.
Mahisagar DySP Kamlesh Vasava said the minor daughter did not accept the marriage arranged by her mother and joined hands with her lover to hatch the conspiracy.
“A total of six accused have been arrested so far. Those held include main accused Kamlesh, Jayesh and two minors. Further legal action is underway,” the DySP said.