Salma Sultana murder mystery: Body recovered during search for news anchor missing for 5 years
The deceased victim, Salma Sultana Lashkar, who is said to be aged around 30 years, was a news anchor working for a local news channel in Chhattisgarh and had been missing for five years back.
Five years after she was allegedly killed by her live-in partner, the Korba police, in an 11-hour operation, excavated a skeleton presumed to be that of a news anchor, Salma Sultana, from below a national highway in Korba city in Chhattisgarh.
She is supposed to have been killed in October 2018 by her live-in partner, Madhur Sahu, 37, a gym instructor, and his two aides, who assisted him bury her body in a secluded area that has currently become a national highway. Her skeleton was found eight metres below the surface, with legs tied and covered in a blanket.
While police probed a murder angle, Salma’s family was yet to identify the body. A pair of sandals was also recovered along with the body.
What has the police said:
“We will collect DNA samples from the skeleton and DNA samples of her mother and siblings. These samples will be sent for DNA analysis to the forensic lab to ascertain if the skeletal remains belong to the victim,” said Superintendent of Korba district, IPS Uday Kiran.
A senior police official said, “We wanted a pinpoint location as digging the highway would cost heavy losses. So we made use of satellite image and ground penetration radar technology, provided by NIT Raipur, to find out the spot where soil consolidation is poor due to digging done while burying the body. We also made use of Google Earth to see where the trees were, which helped us ascertain the body was in that five-metre stretch.”
Salma’s relationship with her murderer
Back in 2018, Salma met the major arrested accused, Madhur, who owned a gym and worked as a gym instructor. They fell in love and were in a live-in relationship, staying in a flat in a colony in Korba city.
As per police sources, both presumed each other’s personality and had financial issues. On October 21 in 2018, Sahu clashed with Salma and called up his friend Kaushal Shrivas, 29.
“Sahu strangled her with a stole and Kaushal helped him,” said an official. Sahu then contacted his second friend Atul Sharma, 26, who supported them to bury the body in a secluded spot in the city near Kohadiya Bridge.
A year later, the work of making a national highway commenced at the spot. Her family reported a complaint after she did not show up for her father’s last rites. Police looked for the missing anchor but they were also incapable of tracking her.
It was merely after Madhur Sahu’s partner notified the police about the crime. He was angry with Madhur Sahu over a transaction between them. After obtaining the input, the police began an investigation for Madhur Sahu but he was nowhere to be found. It was only after the arrest of three people the skeleton of Salma Sultana was found.
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