Five Years in a Live-in Relationship
Police identified the victim as Pratibha Prajapati and arrested Sanjay Patidar in Ujjain. Initial questioning revealed that Pratibha was Patidar’s girlfriend, not his wife, and they had been in a live-in relationship for five years – three in Ujjain and two in Dewas.
Body Kept in Refrigerator Since March 2024
Patidar confessed that Pratibha had been pressuring him to marry since January 2024. To escape her, he and his accomplice, Vinod Daba, plotted and murdered her in March, hiding her body in the refrigerator. He then vacated the rented house in June 2024, but locked the master bedroom and study, assuring the landlord he would collect his belongings shortly.
New Tenant’s Discovery
The landlord, Dhirendra Shrivastava (from Indore), had rented the house to a new tenant who repeatedly requested access to the locked master bedroom and study. After granting permission to break the locks, the new tenant discovered the refrigerator, from which blood and a foul odour emanated. Police were notified and recovered Pratibha’s body.