The man who brutally murdered his friend and then chopped up his body before stuffing it in his refrigerator told the police that he committed the crime because he suspected something ‘suspicious’ between his wife and the victim.
Badal Mondal, a native of West Bengal, was arrested from Odisha on Wednesday and brought to Delhi on Friday for allegedly killing his friend and colleague Vipin Joshi on October 9.
Were out drinking
“He had resolved to kill him because he suspected something was going on between his wife and Vipin. The suspicion grew stronger on two occasions which he claimed he witnessed,” said Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (South) Chinmoy Biswal.
On the night of the incident, Badal, Vipin and three of their friends were drinking at one of the friends’ house after which the accused and the victim returned to Badal’s rented accommodation in Saidulajab, the police said.
Badal, who had decided to kill Vipin, took the opportunity to strike when the latter was smoking.
“They came home, brought mutton, cooked and ate it. The two were drinking when an argument broke out over an issue. After it got over, Vipin was smoking when Badal hit him from behind with the back of the meat cleaver,” said the officer.
Used a meat cleaver
After Vipin fell to the ground, Badal hit him again to make sure he was dead.
He then used the cleaver to chop up the body. He had allegedly learnt to use the cleaver during his time as a chef in a south Delhi restaurant where the two worked for the last seven years.
The police said that Badal then dumped the pieces in the fridge and later went to get polybags to stuff them in. The next morning, he neatly packed the pieces in the polybags and dumped them in his refrigerator.
“The last time he was seen in Delhi was on October 10 when he went to ask his colony’s security guard to keep his house keys. The guard refused,” said Mr Biswal. The body was finally found on October 14.
After preliminary investigation, Badal became the prime suspect in the murder and several teams were formed to nab him.
The team went to Purulia village in West Bengal after it was discovered that he is a native of the area. “Badal wasn’t found there but the locals told the police that his wife’s family stays in Tatanagar,” which became the next stop for the police.
When the police reached the wife’s home, Badal wasn’t found there but the family said that Badal had sent his wife and child there a few days before the murder was committed.
“After several rounds of questioning, it was found that the accused’s brother-in-law works in Rourkela. The team were sent there and he was found hiding,” said Mr Biswal.
The police are also probing the role of the family on whether they were aware of him committing the crime.
