By Dharmesh Prajapati
Two individuals, including a woman, have been arrested for allegedly murdering an Assam native whose decapitated body was discovered inside a suitcase at Chennai’s Perambur railway station last week, police said on Monday.
Investigators later recovered the victim’s severed head and limbs from separate locations across Chennai and neighbouring Chengalpattu district, unravelling a chilling crime that had initially baffled authorities.
The accused were identified as Rhema Khatun, 30, and her associate Asraf Ali, 36, both residents of Assam. The victim, Ameer Ali, 35, was Khatun’s second husband.
The case surfaced on 5 June when a passenger noticed an unattended suitcase on Platform 4 of Perambur railway station and alerted authorities. Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel opened the bag and found the headless torso of a man wrapped in cloth and plastic. Investigators also discovered that the victim’s hands and legs had been severed at the elbows and knees.
What began as a suspicious death case registered by the Perambur Railway Police was later converted into a murder investigation and handed over to the Greater Chennai Police.
According to the Chennai Police, investigators traced the plastic covers used in disposing of the body to a hospital in Taramani. At the same time, dedicated cybercrime and surveillance teams reviewed footage from more than 100 CCTV cameras, eventually identifying an auto-rickshaw believed to have been used in the crime.
“During the forensic examination at the crime scene, investigators found red and yellow plastic covers typically used in hospitals,” a senior police official said.
Police then analysed ride-booking records from platforms including Rapido, Ola and Uber to track the journey linked to the suitcase. The digital trail led officers to a house in Teynampet, where the two suspects were arrested.
During questioning, Khatun allegedly admitted to planning and carrying out the murder. She told investigators that Ameer Ali frequently subjected her to physical abuse and maintained extramarital relationships, leaving her distressed and emotionally traumatised.
Police said Khatun and Asraf Ali allegedly plotted the killing together. On 2 June, they reportedly mixed seven sleeping pills into the victim’s milk. After he became unconscious, they allegedly slit his throat and later dismembered the body using a kitchen knife.
Investigators said the accused transported the torso in a suitcase and abandoned it at Perambur railway station on 5 June. The severed hands and legs were allegedly thrown into the Buckingham Canal near their residence in Teynampet, while the victim’s head, wrapped in plastic, was disposed of in Kolavai Lake near Chengalpattu railway station the following day.
Acting on information provided by the accused, police recovered the limbs from the canal and retrieved the severed head from the lake in the presence of local revenue officials.
Authorities said further investigation is ongoing to establish all the circumstances surrounding the murder.