A chilling murder case has rocked Tripura after police recovered the body of a missing youth from an ice-cream freezer in Gandacherra market, Dhalai district. The victim, Sariful Islam, 24, was an electrician employed under the Agartala Smart City Mission. His disappearance from Indranagar area of Agartala had triggered an intensive search, culminating in a shocking discovery on Wednesday.

The case, which involved a complex web of relationships and jealousy, led police to uncover that Islam was murdered following a dispute involving a 20-year-old woman and her cousin, Dibakar Saha a 28-year-old MBBS graduate from Bangladesh.

According to police, the romantic involvement between Sariful and the woman had recently soured, and taking advantage of the situation, Saha allegedly conspired to eliminate his rival. West Tripura SP Kiran Kumar said, “Initial investigations point to a love affair between the victim and the woman, who is also a cousin of Dibakar Saha. The love triangle appears to be the motive behind the murder.”

How Islam was Killed?

Islam was reportedly lured to a residence in South Indranagar’s Kabarkhala area on the evening of June 8 under the guise of receiving a gift. There, Saha and three accomplices Animesh Yadav (21), Nabanita Das (25), and Joydeep Das (20) ambushed and strangled him to death. Police say the murder was premeditated, with a trolley bag purchased two days earlier used to conceal the body.

The very next day, Saha contacted his parents Dipak and Debika Saha who traveled from Gandacherra to Agartala. They took the bag containing the body and later concealed it inside a freezer at their shop in Gandacherra market, some 120 kilometers from the state capital.

The investigation gained momentum after a missing person complaint was filed by Islam’s family. Police arrested all six suspects by Tuesday night. The body was recovered on Wednesday, following a confession from the prime accused. “Based on his confession, the body of the victim was retrieved from the freezer on Wednesday. After a post-mortem examination, the body was handed over to the victim’s family,” confirmed SP Kiran Kumar.

Digital Evidence Exposes Murder Motive

Digital evidence such as text messages further corroborated the motive. Investigators revealed that Saha had sinister intentions behind the crime. “The cousin wanted to physically exploit the woman, who recently lost her father. He knew that he couldn’t do that till the boyfriend was in the scene, so he conspired to kill him,” Kumar stated. The accused was also a frequent visitor to the woman’s residence in Bankumari, East Agartala.

All six arrested Dibakar Saha, his parents, and the three accomplices are scheduled to be produced before court on Thursday. The gruesome nature of the crime, especially the method of disposal, has drawn parallels to recent high-profile cases in the region, with residents still reeling from the disturbing details.

A similar case that recently shocked the nation was the murder of Raja Raghuvanshi, who was killed by contract killers allegedly hired by his wife, Sonam Raghuvanshi, during their honeymoon in Meghalaya. The crime was reportedly motivated by her relationship with another man.