In a shocking incident from Chhattisgarh’s Balod district, a husband has been arrested for strangling his wife to death with her own sari near the Tandula River. The gruesome discovery unfolded in Devinavagaon village, where the woman’s body was found on February 23, sparking a swift police investigation that uncovered a chilling tale of domestic despair.
Police rushed to the scene upon receiving reports of the body, joined by forensic experts and a dog squad. Initial examinations pointed straight to murder, prompting the formation of a special team under the guidance of Durg Range IG and SP Yogesh Patel. The victim was identified as Savitri Nishad, a local resident whose family confirmed her identity.
Days of relentless probing in the village revealed a troubled household. Savitri had been battling mental health issues for years, often vanishing to her parental home without notice and neglecting household chores. On the fateful day, she left without preparing food, leaving their younger daughter to go to school hungry while the elder stayed home.
Her husband, Dharmendra Nishad, returned from a local Chhath puja event to find her gone. Enraged, he searched the village before heading to the riverbank where she sometimes went for privacy. Grabbing an old sari torn into a rope-like strip, he confronted her, strangled her with it, and then covered her face and neck with her scarf to stage it as an accidental suffocation.
Dharmendra slipped back home through the fields, hoping to evade suspicion. But police scrutiny cracked the case wide open. Interrogations exposed his frustrations with her condition and frequent absences as the motive. He has since been remanded to judicial custody, leaving the community reeling from this act of desperation turned deadly.