Couple held in Manipur after body found on train

Police in Manipur have arrested a couple in connection with the August 5 discovery of a dismembered body found in a suitcase on a Delhi-bound train from Tamil Nadu. The suspects, identified as Manik Uddin Laskar, 22, and his wife Bhagabati Majhi, alias Ayesha Begum, 21, were taken into custody in Manipur’s Jiribam district. The arrests follow a nearly month-long investigation led by Tamil Nadu Police with assistance from Manipur authorities.

A joint team of Tamil Nadu and Manipur Police arrested Manik on August 28 along the inter-village road between Lalpani and Rasidpur in Jiribam district. Bhagabati was detained the next day from Kashimpur village in the same district. Both suspects were handed over to Tamil Nadu authorities for further proceedings. According to a Manipur Police statement, the couple is being transferred to the T8 Guduvanchery police station in Tamil Nadu for formalities.

Chennai Government Railway Police Superintendent P Rajan confirmed the arrests on Sunday. He stated that the accused would be produced before a magistrate in Manipur before being brought to Chennai under transit warrants for continued investigation. Rajan also noted that the crime appeared to be linked to an alleged illicit relationship between Manik and the victim.

The case began on August 5 when passengers on the Tamil Nadu Express reported a foul odor from a red trolley suitcase in the unreserved compartment after the train reached Agra. Railway police recovered a headless, dismembered body from the suitcase. Tamil Nadu railway police at Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station and Agra railway police initiated a detailed probe.

Authorities reviewed over 350 surveillance camera recordings and identified the couple carrying the suitcase at Chennai Central railway station. Meanwhile, the victim’s son had filed a missing-person report at Guduvanchery police station. A raid on a rented house on Mosque Street in Guduvanchery led to the recovery of additional body parts from a large cooking vessel. Forensic examination and DNA analysis confirmed the victim as Hayathun Nisha, a resident of Odisha.

Investigators said the suspects had stayed at the victim’s residence and were known to her for several years. The missing-person case was later upgraded to a murder investigation as authorities pursued those responsible and sought to determine the motive.

The investigation revealed that the couple placed the red trolley suitcase on the Tamil Nadu Express on August 3 before fleeing to Manipur. Police continue to pursue all angles of the case.

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