Overview

• Devendra Kumar, a 62-year-old retired Army man, was killed and dismembered in Ballia, Uttar Pradesh, allegedly by his wife Maya Devi, her lover Anil Yadav, and two accomplices, Satish Yadav and Mithilesh Patel.
• Police discovered severed body parts, including limbs and a torso, in various locations near the Ghaghra River, but the victim's head remains missing despite ongoing searches using divers.
• Maya Devi filed a missing person report on May 10 to mislead investigators, but her daughter’s testimony and forensic evidence linked her to the crime.
• Anil Yadav and Satish Yadav were arrested after a police encounter during which Anil sustained a gunshot wound; weapons and other evidence were recovered from the suspects.
• The murder is part of a broader trend of spousal killings in Uttar Pradesh, characterized by premeditated violence and dismemberment to obscure victim identities.