A shocking missing-person investigation in Jamnagar, Gujarat, has uncovered an alleged murder in which a woman and her alleged lover are accused of poisoning her husband with cyanide and burying his body beneath the floor of a factory nearly two years ago.
According to police, Jignesh Mavadiya, a furniture businessman, was allegedly murdered by his wife, Prithvi, and her alleged lover, Nilesh. Investigators believe the accused mixed cyanide into Jignesh’s liquor, killed him, and buried his body around 12 feet underground inside a rented factory in the Dared GIDC industrial estate.
Police launched an excavation at the factory on Tuesday after the accused allegedly revealed details of the crime during questioning. A forensic team and senior police officers supervised the operation, which continued throughout the day. Officials said an FIR will be formally registered after the recovery and identification of the remains.
The case came to light after Jignesh’s relatives grew suspicious of his prolonged absence. For the past two years, Prithvi had reportedly told family members that her husband had moved to Australia for work and could not be contacted because mobile phones were not allowed at his workplace.
Doubts intensified when a relative planning to travel to Australia asked for Jignesh’s contact details. Unable to provide any phone number or address, Prithvi allegedly confessed that Jignesh had been killed two years earlier with Nilesh’s help, police said.
Following the revelation, Jignesh’s brother Ashok Mavadiya filed a missing-person complaint at the Jamnagar City “B” Division Police Station. During interrogation, Nilesh allegedly disclosed the location where the body had been buried, prompting police to seal the factory and begin excavation.
Investigators said Prithvi, a former nurse, was allegedly in a relationship with Nilesh before her marriage, and they suspect the relationship resumed later.
Police also said that despite her husband’s disappearance, Prithvi continued attending family gatherings and maintained the claim that he was working overseas.
The excavation and forensic examination are still underway, and investigators are awaiting the recovery and identification of the remains. Authorities have not yet completed the investigation, and the allegations against the accused will be subject to judicial proceedings.
