A 35-year-old woman who was reportedly missing has been found dead and buried in a banana plantation in Tamil Nadu’s Erode. The police have arrested a 27-year-old man who was allegedly in a relationship with her. 

The police discovered the woman’s body after locals who entered a field near Gobichettipalayam to collect mushrooms found a bloodstained knife and strands of hair sticking out of the soil, according to NDTV. Subsequently, they alerted the local police, who later unearthed the woman’s body from a three-foot deep pit.

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Tamil Nadu Shocker: Murder Over Marriage Proposal

The deceased was identified as Sonia, a beautician from Appakudal town, who had been reported missing since November 2. Her family lodged a complaint after she failed to return home from work that evening. A widow for the past two years, Sonia lived with her mother and her two school-aged children, a son and a daughter.

Further investigations revealed telephonic conversations between Sonia and her accused, Mohan Kumar, a B.Com graduate and owner of the banana plantation where the body was found. Police have detained and questioned him.

"The lady kept asking him to marry her, and this triggered the murder," said the police officer, quoted by NDTV.

“Sonia and Mohan Kumar first met two years ago while working at a garment factory near Gobichettipalayam. Over time, they developed a relationship and met frequently at his farmland,” the police officer added. 

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As per the police, on the day of the incident, Mohan Kumar had allegedly dug a pit in his farmland and invited Sonia for dinner around 8 PM. After spending some time, the accused is said to have attacked her with a stone and then stabbed her in the neck with a small knife, thereby killing her instantly. 

He reportedly then buried her body in the pit and discarded her phone and clothes near the Bhavani canal. Investigators believe he returned to the site the next morning and pretended ignorance when questioned by police.

Officers from the Siruvalur Police Station, assisted by revenue officials and a medical team from Perundurai Government Medical College, conducted a spot inspection and post-mortem examination.