4-year-old mother of two Neelam Srivastava strangulated her husband's lover Shilpa Raut (pic inset), and then smothered her using a pillow on June 11. She covered the body in a sheet, put it in a trunk, and called for a tempo to dispose the body.Police said, while on her way, Neelam came across a nakabandi at Santacruz. She asked the driver if the tempo would be checked.
When the driver asked the reason, she said, “ Mere paas ek laash hai.” This scared the driver, and he took a u- turn.
He then asked Srivastava to get off. But she forced him to help her dispose the body, by threatening to implicate the driver for murder. Finally, the driver dropped her at the Hub mall in Goregaon, police said. When Srivastava found that no one was around, she left the trunk on the corner of the road, and went back home.
Police on finding the body inside a trunk started the investigation by questioning Vijaykant, after they came to know that Raut had worked for him and was still in touch.
He told them that his wife was jealous of Raut, and suspected that he was having an affair with Raut.
Neelam was questioned on Thursday night, and after she confessed to her crime, she was put under arrest on Friday morning.Shilpa Raut, a widow and mother of two children, used to work at a garment shop owned by Neelam's husband Vijaykant in Kurar, Malad ( east), five years ago.Apparently, the two were still in touch, even after she had stopped working there.
Police said, the auto driver didn't inform police about the incident. After Neelam's arrest, the police called the driver for the questioning. “He will be our prime witness in the case,'' said an officer. The police recovered the body the next day after a roadside garage employee informed them about it.
