Tragedy struck Devinavagaon in Balod when a woman’s corpse surfaced by the Tandula River on February 23, later revealed as a cold-blooded killing by her spouse. Chhattisgarh police’s meticulous probe nabbed Dharmendra Nishad, who admitted to using his wife Savitri’s sari as a garrote in a moment of unchecked anger.
Alerted immediately, authorities including forensics and dog squads secured the site. The autopsy screamed murder, leading SP Yogesh Patel to deploy a crack team under IG oversight. Village immersion yielded Savitri’s details: a mentally afflicted woman prone to sudden departures to her parents’ place, ignoring all home responsibilities.
The incident day painted a picture of chaos—no breakfast for the kids, youngest off to school starving, eldest stranded. Dharmendra, back from Chhath celebrations, found the house empty and his temper flared. A fruitless village search led him riverward, sari in hand fashioned into a noose.
Spotting her, he struck fatally, then disguised the strangulation with her scarf for deception. Sneaking home through crops, he thought he’d fooled everyone. Police persistence unraveled the truth, pinning the crime on spousal exasperation over her illness.
With the accused jailed, this case serves as a grim reminder of how untreated mental health crises can spiral into irreversible violence, urging better support systems in remote areas.