A peaceful town plunged into fear. The cause was the police discovering a horrifying case inside an apartment.

When the refrigerator was opened, there were no fruits, vegetables, or any food inside. Instead, what was found in the fridge was the corpse of a missing woman.

To begin today’s story, let’s learn about the woman named Maha Lakshmi, 29 years old, but we will just call her Maya. Maya was actually from Nepal.

She had an older sister and came from a humble family. Her parents were farmers living in a small house. In 2019, when Maya was 23, her parents arranged her marriage to an Indian man named Hemant Das.

After Maya and Hemant got married, the couple moved to India. Maya and Hemant rented a house in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Hemant worked as an electrician at a mobile phone shop, while Maya worked as a sales clerk for a cosmetics brand in a shopping mall. After one year of marriage, Maya became pregnant and gave birth to a baby girl.

Maya and Hemant’s family was simple and happy. But by 2023, their arguments became more frequent. Hemant suspected Maya was having an affair with a man who worked at a hair salon, known only as Ash. Soon after, Hemant actually saw Maya going out with Ash.

That was why the two decided to separate immediately. After Maya and Hemant’s divorce was approved, their child was cared for by Maya. When Maya went to work, her sister, who had moved from Nepal to India, took care of the child. After six months, Maya gave custody of the child to her ex-husband.

In March 2024, Maya rented a house on Licaval Road and lived alone there. When Maya had days off, she often visited her daughter at Hemant’s house. Since then, Maya rarely met or spent time with her mother and brother anymore.

September 21, 2024.
A normal day for the residents of Licaval Road.

However, the entire area was suddenly filled with complaints from residents living near the three-story apartment. They said there was a strong foul odor coming from that house. A man called the landlord to report the bad smell. When the landlord arrived, the door was locked. This apartment was rented by Maya.

The landlord immediately called Maya but she did not answer. Then the landlord called Maya’s mother, Mina. Mina said that it was the day of her own mother’s funeral and she had been unable to reach her daughter. According to the landlord, they had to open Maya’s apartment because the foul smell was coming from inside.

Mina and Maya’s sister were worried when they heard this. They quickly brought a spare key to Maya’s apartment and went to the location. Around 3 PM, Maya’s apartment was opened. The landlord and some residents entered the apartment.

But only minutes later, they immediately left because they could not tolerate the stench coming from inside. In addition, residents saw part of a human body. After leaving, the landlord called the police.

Ten minutes later, the police arrived. They wore masks and rushed into Maya’s apartment.

Some officers even immediately left the house because the stench was overwhelming. Some police officers could not hold back vomiting due to the foul smell inside the apartment. However, the police returned with several layers of masks. Inside the apartment, they found a refrigerator door slightly open.

When the police opened the fridge, they discovered a corpse. The police ran out but found nothing else inside the fridge. They immediately called the forensic team to assist in the investigation. The police did not want to return to the apartment due to the overpowering stench.

Maya’s mother and sister anxiously waited outside the apartment. When they learned about the remains found inside the woman’s apartment, the forensic team arrived, dried the remains, divided them into 59 pieces, and took them to the laboratory. It is believed the remains had been dismembered.

Mina confirmed that the remains found were definitely her daughter Maya’s, who they had not been able to contact for eleven days. Meanwhile, the horrifying crime quickly spread throughout the area. Due to the severity of the case, the entire country of India was shocked after photos of the refrigerator containing Maya’s remains were widely circulated.

Her case was considered the most brutal murder in India.

As the investigation continued, it was discovered that Maya was last seen by acquaintances on August 19. On September 2, Maya answered a final call on her mobile phone. When the police searched for evidence, they found a suitcase next to the refrigerator.

The police hypothesize that the suspect planned to dispose of Maya’s body in a suitcase. However, this plan failed. Maya’s mobile phone was also found. The police suspect that Maya may have been killed between September 2 and 3. The door to Maya’s house was locked from the outside, so the police believe that after killing Maya, the suspect locked the door and fled quickly.

First, the police recounted the story of Maya’s brother and mother. What happened to Maya deeply hurt them, and they demanded justice for the woman. The only unfortunate thing was that no surveillance cameras were found near Maya’s apartment.

Then, the police spoke with Maya’s neighbors, who said Maya left the house around 9:30 a.m. each day. Some neighbors also noticed that sometimes someone would come to pick Maya up.

The next day, the police spoke with Maya’s ex-husband, Hemant. Hemant denied any involvement in the case. He said that although his relationship with Maya was not good, he could not kill the mother of his child.

He also mentioned that it had been a month since he last saw Maya after she came to visit their child. According to Hemant, they separated because Maya caught him with his lover Ash. Hemant also said that on February 15, 2024, he filed a complaint against Maya after she caused him injury.

Hemant stated that Maya had come to the mobile phone shop asking for money, but suddenly became angry because the amount he gave was insufficient. When Hemant refused to give more money, he said he was attacked and beaten by Maya. Later, Maya was accused of filing a lawsuit against Hemant, alleging assault.

The lawsuit between Maya and Hemant did not produce any results. Hemant told the police that he believed Ash, Maya’s lover, was the one who killed her. The police immediately located Ash and took him to the station. Ash denied killing Maya, and checking Ash’s mobile phone showed that he had not contacted Maya for a long time.

Ash was also proven to have been at the scene where Maya was killed. That is why the police released Ash due to lack of evidence against him. Consequently, the police continued their investigation to find the suspect.

There were three other men Maya had met whom the police suspected. However, after talking with them, the police realized they were innocent, and no evidence linked them to Maya’s murder.

On September 22, 2024, the police returned to Maya’s house to search for surveillance cameras that could assist the case. Until the police reviewed footage they did not want to release publicly.

On the surveillance video, a man can be seen walking toward Maya’s house on September 2. The police hypothesize that this man is the killer. The video was not made public, and the man’s photo was not immediately released to the media. According to the police, if his photo and name were publicized, the man might flee.

Afterward, the police went to the mall where Maya worked to confirm the suspect’s name and address. There, the authorities learned that since September 1, Maya and a male colleague identified as Mukti Rajan Roy, 31, had not shown up for work.

The police obtained Roy’s phone number from the mall and used it to determine who he last contacted and the phone’s location. It turned out Roy last spoke with Maya on September 1, and his phone location on September 2 and 3 was at the victim’s apartment.

For the police, this was the first definite lead in Maya’s death case. That is why they immediately went to Roy’s house in Bengaluru, where he was staying with his brother. The police did not meet Roy but were able to speak with his brother.

Roy’s brother said that he had gone to visit their mother. The police asked Roy’s brother if he knew anything about Roy and Maya’s colleague. At first, the man denied having any information about the case. But before the police could leave, Roy caught up and confessed everything he knew.

According to Roy’s brother, he knew Maya because she had come to their house many times. The man also said that Roy admitted to him that he had killed his girlfriend Maya. He also mentioned that Roy and Maya met at the mall where they both worked. Their relationship started very well.

But soon after, the two began to argue frequently. Until September 1, 2024, Roy suddenly called his brother. Roy said they had to leave the house they were living in as soon as possible. Roy also told his brother that he would explain everything when they met.

When Roy returned home, he confessed to his brother that he had killed Maya. Therefore, they had to leave the rented apartment so he could evade the crime. Roy quickly left afterward, but his brother stayed where they lived.

After interrogating Roy’s brother, the police were sure that Roy was the one who killed and dismembered Maya’s body.

Determined to find Roy, the police did not waste any time searching for the suspect. Using Roy’s mobile phone number again, the police traced his location and discovered he was in Odisha. While the police were on their way to the area, Roy’s location suddenly disappeared.

Experts hypothesized that Roy destroyed his SIM card after learning that Maya’s remains had been found.

Additionally, it was possible that Roy had purchased a new SIM card and inserted it into his old phone, a serious mistake by the suspect. To track the suspect’s new location, the police used the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) number. IMEI is a unique 15-digit serial number of a mobile phone.

You can find the IMEI number on the phone’s box, in the phone’s system, and on the back of the phone. IMEI is like the phone’s fingerprint, used to track the phone if it is lost or stolen. Afterward, the police were able to identify where Roy was going.

The police followed Roy to Bidarak, where his family lived. At this point, the police were confident they could finally arrest Roy and punish him for killing Maya. But fate was not kind to them, and they did not expect what would happen next.

On September 24, 2024, when Roy returned home, they noticed he seemed sad and unwell. Roy’s relatives thought he was just tired from traveling. The next day, around 4 a.m., Roy hurriedly left with his laptop and bag, using his father’s motorcycle to escape.

Roy drove three kilometers and then stopped in a forest near a cemetery. A few hours later, around 7 a.m., the police arrived at the last location where Roy left his phone. They thought they could finally catch Roy, but they were wrong again.

The police saw a group of people at Roy’s phone location. When the police cut through the crowd, a tree revealed them. But when they looked up the tree, they saw a man. The man was dead, and no one else was the suspect Roy who had killed Maya.

It turned out Roy had committed suicide to avoid the consequences of his crime. At the same time, the Odisha police arrived and took the suspect’s body to the hospital. Meanwhile, the police searched Roy’s motorcycle and bag. Inside the bag, they found Roy’s diary.

In the diary, Roy wrote that on September 2, 2024, he and his girlfriend Maya argued. And the next day, Roy killed Maya. The diary stated that Roy and Maya often argued because Roy felt mentally harassed by Maya. In the diary, Roy also said he had split Maya’s lips so the police could not catch him.

Finally, Roy said he would do something to atone for the wrongs he caused Maya. For the police, Roy’s confession about killing Maya was clear. And because Roy was dead, they had no one left to charge. That is why Maya’s murder case was considered closed, despite being one of the most horrifying crimes in India.