In Nala Sopara, Mumbai, Maharashtra, 33-year-old mason Vijay Chauhan was reported missing by his family. Investigation and excavation at his residence on July 21, 2025, revealed his body buried four feet under newly laid floor tiles inside his chawl room. Vijay had previously caught his 28-year-old wife, Gudia (also known as Komal or Chaman), having an extramarital affair with their 20-year-old neighbor, Monu, a third-year BSc IT student. Following repeated domestic disputes, Gudia and Monu allegedly conspired between July 5 and 6 to murder Vijay. They wrapped his body in a mattress, paid an outside mason ₹1200 to dig a pit inside the house, buried him, and then misled Vijay's elder brother, Ajay (also a mason), into believing Vijay had walked out after a fight and that a leaking pipe required tile work. Ajay unwittingly laid tiles over his brother's grave. Gudia subsequently fled with her seven-year-old child and Vijay's mobile phone, turning it on in Pune to receive bank OTPs to siphon his savings and insurance money. Police tracked the phone signal, arrested Gudia and Monu, and obtained a seven-day remand for custodial interrogation.
Country: India
State/Province: Maharashtra, India
City/Region: Nala Sopara
Incident Type: Domestic Violence Homicide
Relationship Status: Married
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Incident Date: July 5, 2025
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2025-07-05
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Infidelity
The incident highlights a pattern where an extramarital relationship combined with financial ambition leads to spousal homicide and elaborate post-offense concealment. Gudia engaged in an affair with her younger neighbor Monu while her husband worked long shifts as a daily wage mason. Confrontation by the husband triggered a conspiracy to eliminate him, bury his body within the residence, manipulate family members into unwittingly completing the burial scene with floor tiles, and flee while attempting to drain his bank account and insurance funds.
Police arrested Gudia and Monu after tracking cell phone activity when Gudia repeatedly powered on the victim's phone in Pune to receive bank OTPs. Both suspects were produced in court and placed in seven-day police custody. Interrogation is ongoing regarding the precise mechanism of murder and full conspiratorial timeline.
Initial confusion was created by Gudia's false claim that Vijay had left angrily to work in Kurla/Andheri. The crime scene was disguised when Vijay's brother Ajay laid tiles over the burial spot believing he was fixing a pipe leak. The presence of mismatched tiles, statements from neighbors confirming no pipeline ran there, and Gudia's sudden disappearance raised suspicion and prompted the fatal excavation.
Vijay caught Gudia and Monu in an illicit situation, leading to frequent domestic fights. Seeking to continue the affair and gain control of Vijay's financial assets, Gudia and Monu planned Vijay's murder between July 5 and 6. After killing him and wrapping his body in a mattress, they hired a laborer for ₹1200 to dig a pit inside the chawl room and buried the body. Gudia then tricked Vijay's brother Ajay into tiling over the pit under the guise of fixing a leak. Gudia fled with Vijay's phone to withdraw money, but powering on the device in Pune generated location tracking data that enabled police to arrest both suspects.
Key risk dynamics included ongoing infidelity, domestic disputes after discovery, financial temptation (bank savings and a 6-lakh insurance policy), and high premeditation. The perpetrator demonstrated extreme manipulation by deceiving the victim's brother into tiling over the secret grave and exploiting digital banking channels post-crime.
Domestic homicides involving concealment often rely on misdirecting close family members and fabricating plausible excuses for a missing spouse. Physical anomalies at a crime scene (such as mismatched newly laid tiles) combined with digital tracking of victim devices offer crucial leads in breaking post-offense deception.
Vijay catching Gudia and Monu together in his house, followed by recurring marital arguments and warnings to stop contact.
Four newly laid tiles of different colors on the room floor, neighbor confirmation that no water pipeline existed beneath that spot, and Gudia switching off her phone and disappearing with her child.
Recovery of Vijay's body wrapped in a mattress buried four feet under the room floor, incriminating chat history on social media between Gudia and Monu, and cellular location logs triggered by bank OTP receipts.
Neighbors reported seeing Gudia with her child two days prior before she vanished, and noted that no pipeline passed through the tiled area. Vijay's brother Ajay stated Gudia asked him to lay tiles over a supposed pipe leak, completely unaware that his brother was buried beneath.
The initial missing person assumption shifted to a homicide inquiry after physical excavation revealed the buried corpse, leading to the identification and arrest of Gudia and Monu.
The exact physical method used to kill Vijay Chauhan and the complete disclosures from police custodial interrogation during the seven-day remand period remain under investigation.