Mumbai: Man kills woman, wraps body in plastic bag and flees

Suspect Jairam Lakada (39)

In a shocking incident in Goregaon, a man allegedly killed a woman, wrapped her body in a plastic bag, turned on the fan and cooler and then escaped. The odour of the decomposing body brought the murder to light. When the neighbours broke the lock of the house and entered, they discovered the body wrapped in a plastic bag.

According to police sources, the deceased woman has been identified as Dibya Toppo, 29, while the absconding accused has been identified as Jairam Lakada, 39. The duo resided in a rented house located in Ashok Nagar, Kama Estate, Hub Mall, Western Express Highway, Goregaon East.

"It has not yet been revealed whether the two were husband and wife or live-in partners, but when they took the house on rent, they presented themselves as husband and wife to the landlord. They had been living in the rented house for the past 15 months after paying Rs 20,000 as deposit and a monthly rent of Rs 5,000. Both worked as labourers at the Nesco Centre.

After checking the Aadhaar card found in the rent agreement, it was discovered that the couple was from Odisha. The deceased woman, Dibya Toppo, was the daughter of John Toppo, a resident of village Surulata Sunjore, district Sundargarh, Odisha. The suspect Jairam was also from the same district.

A rubber molding factory operates on the ground floor of the house where the couple was residing. Owner of the factory and the tenement Sameer Bataviya told mid-day, "Jairam paid the rent on May 22, and after that, we did not see him. Our factory operates from morning until 9 pm, after which we close it and go home. Both Jairam and his wife worked at Nesco, and they used to come home only after we left." Bataviya said that there was a foul smell coming from the house for some days and initially, they suspected a dead rat, but the odour intensified. "When the stink became unbearable and the house remained locked, we became suspicious. We broke the lock while recording a video in the presence of neighbors and immediately informed the police after discovering the decomposed body of the woman inside, wrapped in the plastic bag," he said.

Upon receiving the information, under the guidance of DCP Smita Patil of Zone 12 and senior police inspector Rajbhar, police inspector Sachin Pardeshi and police sub-inspector Indrajeet Bhise from the detection team rushed to the spot.

During the investigation, it was revealed that Dibya had been strangled with a nylon rope that was found around her neck. The fan, cooler, and light were on. Attempts to contact Jairam on his mobile phone were unsuccessful, as his phone was switched off. The police conducted a Panchanama, sent the body for autopsy, registered a murder case, and began the investigation, the officer added.