Following a 24-day manhunt, police have arrested a couple in Manipur in connection with the dismembered body found inside a suitcase aboard the Tamil Nadu Express. The joint operation by Manipur and Tamil Nadu Police brought an end to the nationwide search for the prime suspects.
The arrested individuals have been identified as 22-year-old Manik Uddin Laskar, a native of Cachar district in Assam, and his 21-year-old wife, Bhagabati Majhi, from Odisha’s Kendujhar district. The duo was apprehended in Kashimpur, located in Manipur's Jiribam district.
The case came to light on August 5 after passengers on the Tamil Nadu Express reported an unbearable stench emanating from an abandoned red suitcase in an unreserved coach upon its arrival at Agra Cantt railway station. Government Railway Police inspected the luggage and discovered the headless, dismembered remains of a woman inside. Forensic analysis subsequently identified the victim as 38-year-old Hayathun Nisha, a native of Odisha who lived in Guduvanchery near Chennai and worked for a private company.
Investigators tracked the suspects by reviewing extensive CCTV footage from Chennai Central railway station, which showed Laskar carrying the heavy red suitcase accompanied by Majhi. Tracing their movements back to Guduvanchery, police searched a rented residence linked to the couple. The search yielded further evidence, including additional dismembered body parts stored inside a large cooking vessel.
Following the discovery, local authorities upgraded an earlier missing-person report filed at the Guduvanchery police station to a murder investigation. By that time, the couple had fled the area, triggering a pan-India search effort.
Officials confirmed that Laskar and Majhi are being handed over to the Station House Officer of the Guduvanchery Police Station. They will be produced before a local magistrate in Manipur before being brought back to Tamil Nadu on a transit warrant. Police expect detailed interrogation to clarify the exact motive behind the crime.
