Man who killed co-worker for allegedly having an affair with wife hid chopped body parts in fridge

Police in India's capital city New Delhi arrested a 31-year-old man for allegedly killing a co-worker, chopping his body into pieces and hiding them in a refrigerator at his home.

The accused reportedly suspected the deceased of having an affair with his wife, police said on Sunday (22 October).

The accused, identified as Badal Mandal, alias Swapan Singra, worked at a restaurant in the city and the victim, Vipin Joshi, was his colleague. Mandal told police during questioning that he had noticed Joshi visiting his house several times in his absence and suspected his wife was cheating on him. He then decided to kill Joshi.

Police said that Mandal first severed Joshi's head with a meat cleaver and hid the other body parts in a refrigerator at his rented flat in south Delhi. Police were looking for Joshi after he was reported missing from 9 October.

His dismembered body was recovered on 15 October, but Mandal had fled the city by then.

He had reportedly applied for leave from the restaurant before committing the crime to avoid any suspicion. After killing Joshi, Mandal went to his in-laws' house in Kolkata, a city in the eastern state of West Bengal.

By the time the police reached the place after tracing Mandal's mobile phone location, he had already left Kolkata and gone to a relative's place in the neighbouring state of Odisha.

Police then arrested him from Rourkela city in Odisha, three days after the body parts were recovered, a senior police officer told Press Trust of India.

Police said that Mandal had procured fake documents to evade arrest, but was eventually nabbed following a tip-off from a family member. However, the whereabouts of his wife are still not clear.