Man killed friend, hid body in the fridge

New Delhi: A 31-year-old man was arrested for allegedly killing his bartender friend, co-worker, chopping his body and hiding it in a refrigerator at his south Delhi house after he suspected him of having an affair with his wife in south Delhi’s Mehrauli, police said today.

Investigators said evidence suggested the murder was planned. “The accused brought the murder weapon (a meat cleaver) from the kitchen of Fio Country Kitchen and Bar,” said Chinmoy Biswal, Additional DCP (south), on Saturday.

Joshi had been missing since October 9 and his body was recovered on October 15. Badal was arrested three days later from Rourkela in Odisha after one of his relatives informed the police.

During interrogation, Badal told the police that he had seen Joshi visiting his house a couple of times in his absence. He suspected his wife of having an illicit affair with Joshi, following which he planned to kill him, the police said.

He had applied for leave at his workplace before killing Joshi so that no one suspects him of killing Joshi, a senior police officer said.

On the day of the incident, he took a meat cleaver from the restaurant. Mandal and Joshi drank alcohol at the former’s flat and then Badal killed him with the cleaver, according to the police.

Mandal then fled to his in-laws house in Kolkata. A Delhi Police team reached Kolkata in his search after tracking his cellphone’s location to Purulia village. But he was not found there.

The police team then went to Tatanagar, where one of Joshi’s relatives said he was in Rourkela.

Badal had even procured fake identity cards and documents to throw the police off track, but he was arrested, the police said.