The Azamgarh police on Sunday arrested a man named Prince Yadav in the killing of a woman whose chopped body was found in a well here. Yadav was hit by a bullet in a gunfire encounter with the police when he was taken to a spot for the recovery of the head of the woman.
The body of the woman, who was later identified as Aradhana, was found in a semi-naked condition, and seemed to be two to three days old, said the Superintendent of Police (Azamgarh) Anurag Arya. The incident had come to light on November 15 after some locals found the body inside a well located outside Paschimi village.
Yadav with the help of his parents, cousin Sarvesh, and other family members had planned to kill Aradhana, who was stated to be in her mid-20s, out of resentment because she had married someone else and not him. She lived in Ishaq Pur village of the Azamgarh district.
It has so far come to light that Yadav had an affair with the victim, who had gotten married earlier this year to some other person.
On November 9, Yadav took Aradhana on his bike to a temple. When they reached there, he, with the help of Sarvesh, strangled her in a sugarcane field. The two then cut her body in six parts, packed them in a polythene bag, and threw it into a well, police said.
They threw the head into a pond some distance away.
Yadav was taken into custody on Saturday but had concealed a country-made pistol at the spot and used it against police in an attempt to flee.
A sharp-edged weapon, a country-made pistol, and a cartridge have been recovered by police in the case so far.
Sarvesh, Pramila Yadav, Suman, Rajaram, Kalawati, Manju, Sheela, all of whom allegedly helped Yadav in the crime, are still at large.
