West Bengal Native Held for Killing Wife, Burying Body Near Worksite in Kottayam

Kottayam: A 31-year-old man from West Bengal has been arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and burying her body near an under-construction house at Ayarkunnam, where both were working as labourers.
The accused, identified as Soni SK, hails from Dharapara in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Police detained him from a railway station in Ernakulam while he was reportedly trying to flee to his hometown with his two children.
According to the police, Soni killed his wife, Alpana Khathoon (28), also from Murshidabad, on October 14. He later buried her body close to the construction site. The murder, police said, was driven by Soni’s suspicion that Khathoon was having an extramarital affair.
Soni had initially filed a missing persons complaint on October 17, claiming his wife had disappeared three days earlier. In his statement, he told police that the two had gone to the market around 8 am on October 14 to buy groceries and that she was missing when he returned from work in the evening. His delayed complaint and inconsistent statements raised suspicion.
Investigators reviewed CCTV footage from the area but found no trace of the woman. Soni was asked to appear before police for further questioning on Saturday evening but failed to do so. When he was later found attempting to board a train to West Bengal, officers detained him and brought him back for interrogation.
During questioning, Soni reportedly confessed to killing Khathoon by strangling her and hitting her on the head with an iron rod. He allegedly buried the body near the worksite shortly afterward.
By around 3 pm, police took Soni to the spot where he had hidden the body. The remains were recovered after digging up the area. After completing the procedures at the scene, police recorded Soni’s arrest. He will be produced before the court as part of the remand process, officials said.