Chhattisgarh: After 11 hours of operation, skeleton of news anchor Salma Sultana found

She is believed to have been murdered in October 2018 by her live-in partner, Madhu Sahu, 37, a gym instructor, and his two aides, who helped him bury her body in a secluded place which is now become a national highway.

Accused Madhur Sahu and victim Salma Lashkar

Her skeleton was found eight metres below the surface, with legs tied and wrapped in a blanket.

“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.

Her skeleton was found eight metres below the surface, with legs tied and wrapped in a blanket.

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.”

Back in 2018, Salma met the main 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 suspected each other’s character and had monetary issues. On October 21 in 2018, Sahu fought 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 called up his second friend Atul Sharma, 26, who helped 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 started at the spot.