By Sagaya Fernando | July 23, 2026
Bagdogra, West Bengal, INDIA: In a gruesome murder allegedly driven by an extramarital affair, the Bagdogra Police in West Bengal have arrested five persons, including the victim's wife and her alleged lover, within 48 hours of recovering a headless body from a tea garden.
Police alleged that the accused conspired to murder the woman's husband, beheaded him, and dumped his body in Haskhowa Tea Garden under the Bagdogra police station limits in Darjeeling district.
The deceased has been identified as Imam, a resident of Kishanganj district in Bihar, who worked as a traditional faith healer, locally known as an ojha.
The arrested accused have been identified as the victim's wife, Tumpa Ghosh alias Momina Begum; her alleged lover, Sudip Pal, a resident of Chandal Jote in Goshaipur, Bagdogra; Sudip's nephews, Bapi Pal and Nitai Pal of Jalpaiguri; and their associate, Kaushik Nath.
According to police, the case came to light on Tuesday July 14 after a headless body was discovered in Section No. 9 of Haskhowa Tea Garden. Investigators recovered an identity card from the body, which helped establish the victim's identity. Police subsequently contacted his family, who identified the body at the North Bengal Medical College and Hospital.
During the investigation, police learned that both Imam and his wife worked as traditional faith healers. Investigators alleged that Momina Begum had been involved in a long-standing extramarital relationship with Sudip Pal, who is married and has two sons.
Police alleged that the two conspired to eliminate Imam so they could continue their relationship without opposition. According to investigators, Sudip, along with his nephews Bapi and Nitai Pal, their friend Kaushik Nath, and Momina Begum, allegedly lured Imam to Haskhowa. There, they allegedly slit his throat, beheaded him, and abandoned his body in the tea garden in an attempt to conceal the crime.
Acting on technical evidence and sustained interrogation, Bagdogra Police arrested all five accused within 48 hours of the body being recovered. They were produced before the Siliguri Sub-Divisional Court on Thursday July 16, which remanded them to police custody for further investigation.
A senior police officer said, "The investigation revealed that the murder was the result of a conspiracy allegedly hatched by the victim's wife and her lover. Based on evidence and interrogation, we were able to crack the case and arrest all five accused. The weapon believed to have been used in the crime has also been recovered. The victim's head has also been recovered. Further investigation is underway to establish the complete sequence of events and collect all available evidence."
Police said investigators are continuing to reconstruct the sequence of events, verify the role of each accused, and gather additional forensic and circumstantial evidence as part of the ongoing investigation.
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