'Drishyam' plot unravels in Ahmedabad: Woman, boyfriend held for burying husband under kitchen floor

A year after a man from Fatewadi went missing under mysterious circumstances, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch on Tuesday unearthed a chilling crime — his body buried beneath the kitchen floor of his own house.

Investigators have arrested his wife Ruby Bihari, and her alleged boyfriend Imran Vaghela, for conspiring to murder him and conceal the evidence in a manner reminiscent of the plot from the Hindi film Drishyam.

According to Crime Branch officials, the victim, identified as Sameer Bihari, had been reported missing for nearly a year. His wife Ruby had claimed that he had left home after a domestic quarrel and never returned. However, during the past three months, the Crime Branch began re-examining the case following discrepancies in Ruby’s statements and her suspicious conduct.

A senior officer said that investigators recently received credible inputs suggesting that Sameer may have been murdered. “During sustained questioning, Ruby’s responses became increasingly evasive. We developed intelligence that she, along with her boyfriend Imran Vaghela, had killed Sameer after he discovered their affair and objected to it,” the officer said.

According to investigators, Ruby and Imran allegedly plotted the murder together. They are suspected to have strangled Sameer to death inside the house and then buried his body under the kitchen floor. To erase any evidence, Ruby allegedly had the kitchen flooring reconstructed with fresh concrete the next day, ensuring no visible sign of the crime remained.

Acting on this information, a team of Ahmedabad Crime Branch officials, accompanied by personnel from the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), reached Ruby’s residence in the Fatewadi area. The team began excavation work inside the house, during which human skeletal remains were recovered from beneath the kitchen flooring.

The remains have been sent for forensic examination to confirm the victim’s identity through DNA profiling and to determine the exact cause and time of death.

Preliminary investigation indicates that Ruby continued living in the same house for months after the murder, maintaining a façade of normalcy and claiming her husband had abandoned her. Meanwhile, Imran allegedly helped her cover up the crime and destroy other evidence, including the victim’s personal belongings.

Officials said both accused have been detained and are being interrogated to reconstruct the sequence of events and verify whether any other individuals assisted in concealing the body or misleading the police.

“The method of concealing the body and maintaining a normal life afterwards bears striking resemblance to the narrative of Drishyam, where the protagonist hides evidence beneath the house floor,” the officer added.

The Ahmedabad Crime Branch has registered a case of murder, criminal conspiracy, and destruction of evidence, and further investigation is underway.