Half-burnt head in Maharashtra leads cops to chilling Madhya Pradesh murder plot

A half-burnt severed head found in a field in Maharashtra’s Buldhana district led police to unravel a chilling murder plot that originated in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, ending with the arrest of a woman’s father and brother.

The case came to light on April 26 after police in Maharashtra's Buldhana district received information about a body lying in a field. When police reached the spot, they found the body of a woman with her head severed from the torso. Both the head and torso were partially burnt and were found lying a short distance apart, triggering panic in the area.

Buldhana Superintendent of Police Nilesh Tambe also reached the crime scene and instructed teams to launch an intensive probe. Police conducted a panchnama and began investigating the unidentified body.

Buldhana Crime Branch Police Inspector Sunil Ambulkar intensified the investigation and sent teams to neighbouring districts, including Jalgaon (Khandesh), Amravati, Akola and several districts in Madhya Pradesh. Police simultaneously checked missing person complaints in these areas.

After nearly 12 days of investigation, police traced a missing complaint registered on May 1 at Khaknar police station in Madhya Pradesh’s Burhanpur district. In the complaint, 50-year-old Bapuram Natthu Kalmekar of Madhya Pradesh, said that his 24-year-old daughter Shivani had left home on April 25 without informing anyone.

When the Buldhana police team questioned the complainant father and his son, the father allegedly confessed to the murder.

According to police, the accused father said Shivani was married to Prakash Bhilawekar in Maharashtra’s Amravati district. However, Shivani was allegedly in a relationship with her cousin. Despite repeated attempts by the family to dissuade her, she did not agree to end the relationship.

The accused father allegedly told police that he hit Shivani on the head with a large bamboo stick, killing her on the spot. The next day, he and his son allegedly transported the body on a motorcycle to a village in Buldhana district, where they severed the head from the torso and attempted to burn the body in a field. Police said the body did not burn completely.

Police have registered a murder case against the accused father and son and arrested both of them. Further investigation is underway.

- Ends