A 53-year-old businessman was arrested on Tuesday for allegedly murdering his wife and younger daughter in Dadar and Nagar Haveli. The accused has been identified as Yogesh Mehta, a resident of Dokmardi area in Silvassa who stayed with his wife Reshma and two daughters, aged 18 and 15, the police said.

According to the police, Mehta murdered his wife and younger daughter following a disagreement. He allegedly chopped his daughter’s body into 10 pieces using a knife and a hammer and disposed of the body parts. 

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He has been detained and is being questioned, police said, adding they have registered a case under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) of the Indian Penal Code. 

Mehta has reportedly confessed to killing his wife following an argument and his younger daughter witnessed the assault and she too was later killed by Mehta, the police said.

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Mehta locked his elder daughter, who is mentally challenged, in a room and chopped his younger daughter’s body into 10 pieces and later disposed of the parts in a canal at Waghchhipa, they added.  

“We have recovered the hammer used by him in killing his wife and daughter. The accused watched crime shows on television and we suspect that this drove him to chop his daughter’s body,” Dadra and Nagar Haveli Crime Branch Police Sub-Inspector Harish Rathod said.

According to the police officials, the residents of the building on Monday evening informed the officials about a foul smell emanating from Mehta’s house. When the police arrived at the apartment, they found Reshma’s body in a sack. 

The police suspect that the murder might have taken place on Saturday following an argument. The police, on Tuesday, carried out a search operation and found certain parts of the daughter’s body, including her head and her limbs. 

A search is on to find the other body parts, the Silvassa police said, adding that the probe is underway.