CID recovers skeleton of missing woman from septic tank in West Bengal, husband confesses to murder after three years

Three years ago, the man had killed his wife due to some family dispute and dumped her body in the septic tank of their rented house. He had then left the house.

Sonarpur (West Bengal): The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on Saturday recovered the skeleton of a woman from the septic tank of a house where she lived in Sonarpur in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas. The woman's husband had murdered her and dumped her body three years ago.

The accused husband, Bhombal Mondal, who was earlier arrested on charges of murdering the woman, was released on bail due to lack of evidence against him. Bhombal and his wife, Tumpa rented a house in Sonarpur's Milanpally during the pandemic in 2020, Rupali, wife of Tapan Mondal, a local resident said. The couple stayed here for a while and one day Bhombal left the house, Rupali said. A few days later, a man claiming to be Bhombal's relative came to pay the rent and collected all the couple's belongings, she added.

Meanwhile, Tumpa's father Lakshman Mondal, a resident of Kultali of the district lodged a missing complaint at Sonarpur police station after he could not contact his daughter. In his complaint, Lakshman stated that Tumpa had gone missing since March 2020. Police filed a case and initiated an investigation in this connection. Investigators initially suspected Bhombal of murdering Tumpa and arrested him. But, he got bail as there was no evidence against him.

Later, a case was filed in Calcutta High Court. On June 13, the court ordered a CID investigation into the matter. According to CID sources, as Bhombal was earlier arrested in this case he was interrogated first. Although he was able to suppress the truth during police interrogation, he broke down before the CID officials.

CID officials said Bhombal confessed on Friday that he had killed his wife due to some family dispute and had left the house after dumping her body in the septic tank. Investigators reached Sonarpur on Friday and a search operation was undertaken at the house.

Finally, on Saturday morning, the woman's skeleton was recovered from the septic tank. This apart, symbolic accessories of a Hindu married woman were also found beside the body, officials said. CID has applied to the court to revoke Bhombal's bail. Also, the agency has sought permission to add murder charge to the missing case.