Junagadh, March 1: A sensational murder case resembling the plot of Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam was cracked by Junagadh police after the skeletal remains of a woman were discovered in a well—13 months after she went missing. The accused, Hardik Sukhadia (28), misled investigators for months, even passing the layer voice analysis (LVA) test at the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL), Gandhinagar, but eventually confessed when confronted with irrefutable evidence.

The case involved the murder of 35-year-old Daya Savaliya, a resident of Rupavati village, Visavadar taluka, who went missing on January 2, 2024. Daya had left home carrying gold jewellery and INR 9.60 lakh cash, prompting her husband, Vallabh, to file a missing complaint. Investigators suspected Hardik, with whom Daya allegedly had an extramarital affair, but he misled them by claiming she had eloped with another man named Rahul. To avoid suspicion, he even stopped using his phone. Valsad Shocker: 15-Year-Old Boy Kills Girlfriend’s 4-Month-Old Son in Gujarat, Arrested From UP’s Prayagraj.

Despite passing the LVA test, the local crime branch (LCB), led by Inspector Jatin Patel, continued probing. After gathering technical and circumstantial evidence, they interrogated Hardik again. This time, he confessed to the crime. Karnataka Honour Killing: Man Kills Daughter for Not Heeding ‘Advice’ on Relationship in Bidar, Police Launch Hunt for Accused.

On February 27, 2025, police recovered Daya’s skeletal remains with assistance from the Amreli fire brigade and FSL teams. The remains were sent for forensic postmortem in Bhavnagar.

Investigations revealed that Hardik wanted to end his relationship with Daya, but her persistent demands led him to murder her. On January 3, 2024, he lured her to Hadala village (Amreli district) and bludgeoned her to death with stones before dumping her body in a well. He even booked her into a hotel in Kagvad using his ex-wife’s ID and used fake calling apps to mislead her husband.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 01, 2025 04:45 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).