Ahmedabad woman's boyfriend, aides killed her husband, chopped body to pieces, buried it under kitchen

In a dramatic breakthrough that brought a gruesome year-old mystery to light, the Ahmedabad City Crime Branch on Tuesday exhumed the skeletal remains of a man buried under the kitchen floor of his own house in Sarkhej-Fatewadi. Investigators said the man, identified as Mohammad Akbarali Ansari, also known as Sameer Bihari, was murdered by his wife and her lover a year ago in a plot straight out of a crime thriller, reminiscent of Bollywood film 'Drishyam'.

Crime Branch’s hidden trail

A tip-off hinted at a man from Fatewadi who had mysteriously vanished a year ago without any official complaint or missing report being filed. The anomaly immediately caught the attention of Crime Branch Inspector S J Jadeja and his team, who began discreet background checks.

The investigators first traced the last known address of the missing man to a modest one-room house in Ahmadi Row House, Fatewadi. They found that the house was now locked and that the man’s wife, Ruby, had moved out months earlier. Residents told the police that Ruby had claimed her husband had gone to Bihar for work, but none of them had ever seen him return.

“Neighbours told us that the couple often quarrelled, and that a man named Imran had been visiting Ruby regularly even after her husband disappeared. That was the first lead that helped us connect the dots,” said a senior Crime Branch officer involved in the investigation.

Following the faintest clues

Acting on this, the team began tracing Imran Akbarbhai Vaghela, a 30-year-old resident of Gokuldham Society in the same locality. Imran worked as a casual labourer and was known to have a close relationship with Ruby. When questioned, he appeared evasive about his connection with her and the missing man. The police placed him under surveillance and, after days of interrogation, he broke down and confessed.

Imran allegedly told the police that he and Ruby were in a relationship and that Sameer had come to know of their affair. According to Imran’s statement, Sameer would often beat Ruby after consuming alcohol, and following a series of violent arguments, Ruby and Imran decided to “get rid of him once and for all”.

A night of horror

On a night about a year ago, when Sameer returned home drunk, Ruby left the front door unlocked. Imran arrived with two accomplices — Rahim, also known as Sahil, and Mohsin, also known as Faizu. As Sameer lay asleep on a cot, the four allegedly pounced on him, holding him down as Imran slit his throat with a butcher’s knife.

What followed was an attempt to erase every trace of the crime. The accused dragged the body to the kitchen, chopped it into several pieces, dug a pit beneath the kitchen floor, and buried the remains. They then filled the pit with cement and cleaned the entire house before disposing of the blood-stained clothes and weapon.

Ruby continued to live in the same house for months, telling neighbours that Sameer had gone to Bihar for work and would be back soon. Some residents grew suspicious when they noticed Imran visiting her frequently, sometimes even staying overnight.

How suspicion turned into a lead

One of the neighbours, a woman who lived next door, confronted Ruby about Imran’s visits. Ruby reportedly said that Imran was helping her with financial issues while her husband was away. The neighbour later tried calling Sameer on his mobile number, only to have Ruby answer the call. When questioned, Ruby claimed Sameer had given her the phone as he was using a new number.

A few days later, the same neighbour saw Ruby with Imran at a nearby market, when she had told her that she going to Bihar to meet her husband. When she tried to question her again, Imran allegedly threatened her not to interfere. The incident was discussed among residents, and eventually, someone quietly passed on the information to the Crime Branch, suspecting foul play.

The unearthing of the crime

The Crime Branch then began technical analysis — tracking Sameer’s phone location and financial transactions. Both had been inactive for more than a year, strengthening the suspicion of murder. Investigators also contacted Sameer’s family in Siwan, Bihar, who said they had not heard from him since his marriage to Ruby.

After weeks of surveillance, the team picked up Imran for questioning. During interrogation, he confessed not only to the murder but also to where they had buried the body. He told the police that the when crime took place and that the body was hidden under the kitchen floor.

On Tuesday, the Crime Branch team, accompanied by an executive magistrate, forensic experts, and a team of local police, reached the house in Fatewadi. With the help of municipal labourers, the officers broke open the cemented portion of the kitchen floor. After hours of digging, they recovered skeletal remains, strands of hair, and tissue.

The recovered remains have been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for DNA testing and forensic analysis to establish the victim’s identity conclusively.

A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence against Ruby, Imran, and their two associates. Imran has been arrested, while Ruby is detianed and the other two accused are on the run. Police teams have been dispatched to trace their whereabouts.

'A crime buried in plain sight'

Speaking about the case, DCP Ajit Rajian (Crime Branch) said, “This investigation demanded extraordinary patience, coordination, and secrecy. It began as a simple inquiry into a man’s disappearance but gradually unfolded into a chilling case of premeditated murder. The body was literally buried in plain sight, under the floor of his own home. Our team’s persistence ensured that the truth, no matter how deeply hidden, came to light.”

Officials added that the case serves as a reminder of how the Crime Branch’s routine detection work can help uncover crimes that might otherwise never surface.