Surat man kills wife, hides body in cement-filled box, files missing report

A chilling case of alleged murder and deception has emerged from Gujarat’s Surat, where a man killed his wife, hid her body in a wooden trunk at an abandoned house, and then filed a missing complaint to mislead the police.

The case came to light after the accused, identified as 40-year-old Vishal Salvi, approached the police to report that his wife, Shilpa Salvi (39), had gone missing. Shilpa, a dietician by profession, was last seen four days earlier, he claimed. Police began a routine missing person investigation, but the case took a dramatic turn early in the probe.

A handwritten note recovered from the couple’s home, reportedly written by Vishal himself, became the turning point. The note, which was found by their minor son and handed over to the police, contained a confession-like message stating that he had made a grave mistake and that Shilpa was no longer alive.

Following this, investigators shifted focus from a missing persons case to a suspected murder. Acting on leads, police traced an old, abandoned property linked to the accused in the Salabatpura police station limits. Upon breaking open the locked house, officers were met with a foul odour emanating from a wooden trunk kept in a corner of the room.

Inside the box, they discovered the decomposed body of the missing woman. The body had reportedly been concealed with raw cement. Preliminary findings suggest that the murder may have taken place four to five days before the missing complaint was filed.

Senior police officer Kanan Desai confirmed that the investigation began after the missing complaint was lodged, but the discovery of the note significantly altered its course. The body has been sent for post-mortem, and forensic teams are assisting in gathering evidence to determine the exact cause of death.

Initial enquiries and statements from acquaintances indicate that the couple had been facing prolonged marital discord, with the husband allegedly suspecting his wife of an extramarital affair – a possible motive under investigation.

The accused remains absconding, and multiple police teams are conducting searches across locations, using CCTV footage and human intelligence to track him down.

- Ends