Police in Salem, Tamil Nadu, are investigating the discovery of a woman's dismembered body found packed in sacks and hidden inside rooftop water tanks at a residence in Arisipalayam. The body was discovered on Monday after the homeowner, a temple priest named Ramesh, returned from a two-day trip with his family.
Discovery at the Residence
According to sources, Ramesh, a resident of Gunabalan Ramasamy Street, had been in Kumbakonam with his family. Upon returning home, his family members opened a house tap and noticed discoloured water with a foul odour, prompting them to inspect the two rooftop tanks.
During the inspection, Ramesh found a plastic sack containing a human leg inside one tank. Alarmed, he searched the other tank and found a similar sack with human remains. He immediately alerted the A Pallapalli police, who rushed to the spot.
Police Investigation
The police recovered three sacks from the tanks and subsequently found a third sack with body parts on the roof of a neighbouring house. All three sacks were seized and sent to Salem Government Hospital for postmortem examination.
Police sources said the woman's remains had been dismembered into seven parts, tied in sacks, and hidden in three places. The victim, suspected to be aged between 35 and 40 years, had the word "Ganapati" tattooed on her arm. The identity of the woman has not yet been established, and police have been examining missing-person reports.
"We are yet to ascertain the identity of the deceased woman," police sources said. "We conducted an inquiry with the neighbours and locals in the area, but they had no knowledge of the woman."
Sources indicated that the woman may have been murdered two or three days ago. "The person responsible might have known that Ramesh and his family were out of town and hence dumped the body there," police said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.
A team of forensic experts arrived at the scene and collected samples, and sniffer dogs were brought in to assist the investigation. There is no confirmation from police about reports that three persons have been detained in connection with the case.