Police arrested a man, who allegedly killed his live-in-partner and kept her dead body inside a refrigerator for nearly a year in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh. The crime surfaced after her decomposed dead body was recovered from the refrigerator in a house after complaints by neighbours, the Press Trust of India reported on Friday.
Pratibha’s dead body, clad in a saree, was tied along with a noose around her neck and stored inside a refrigerator. The accused had kept the refrigerator in a house he had rented in Dewas.
The accused Sanjay Patidar, lived in a rented house in Dewas since June 2023, and vacated it in 2024. He kept his belongings in a study room and the master bedroom, reported PTI, citing Dewas Superintendent of Police Puneet Gehlot. Forty-one-year-old Patidar had told his landlord that he would vacate the remaining portion of the house after some time.
“Shrivastava had rented his house to one Sanjay Patidar of Ujjain in June 2023. A year later, Patidar vacated the house but continued to keep his belongings in a study room and the master bedroom. He told Shrivastava he would vacate this portion later,” Gehlot told reporters, adding that Patidar used to visit the house occassionally.
Neighbours complained of a foul smell from the house
Months after Patidar left the house, neighbours started complaining to the house owner about a foul smell. The house in Vrindawan Dham is owned by Dhirendra Shrivastava.
The incident came to light after the refrigerator stopped working due to a power cut, and a foul smell started emanating. The police have arrested Sanjay Patidar from Ujjain. A probe is on.
Sanjay killed his partner to avoid formalise their relationship
Sanjay had told the police that he had been living in a relationship with Pratibha for the past five years. However, he shifted to Dewas with her in 2023. At that time, he told neighbours that she was his wife.
Their relationship strained after Pratibha started pushing Sanjay to formalise their relationship, reported Hindustan Times. However, Sanjay refused to do so and they used to argue frequently about it.
