Amid Valentine’s Week festivities, a tale of betrayal and brutality emerged from Ranchi’s outskirts. A scorned husband and his unfaithful wife allegedly murdered her lover—a married father—chopped off his head and genitals, and flung the remains into the Kanchi River in Sonahatu.
The victim, 25-year-old Harihar Mahato from Domadiah village, was reported missing January 31 after evening errands. On February 8, his battered torso surfaced near the river, sparking horror. Forensic clues pointed to deliberate disfigurement: head severed for anonymity, private parts mutilated in sadistic retaliation.
Police pieced together the conspiracy through mobile data. Sulochana Devi, entangled in a prolonged affair with Harihar, and husband Chatrapati hatched the plan upon discovering the romance. She summoned him to the riverbank under false pretenses. Chatrapati ambushed, and the pair executed the slaying. Post-murder, they fragmented the corpse to thwart identification.
Now in custody, the suspects face intense grilling. Harihar’s grieving family and shocked neighbors protest for thorough probes. The village atmosphere is tense, scarred by this Valentine’s atrocity.
Ranchi’s affair-related killings are alarmingly frequent. The recent Doranda case saw Taukir Ansari kill wife Taranum Parveen on January 24 amid cheating allegations, followed by his suicide. Law enforcement stresses intervention to break this cycle of passion-fueled murders.