Gorakhpur, Apr 21 (PTI): In a stark reminder of the gruesome murder of a former merchant navy officer in Meerut, a woman and her lover killed her husband who returned from Dubai 10 days ago, cut the body in two and stuffed it in a suitcase before dumping it in a field far away from home.

Police identified the man from the airline tag that was still attached to the suitcase.

Uttar Pradesh has recently witnessed two diabolical spousal murders in Meerut -- one in which the merchant navy officer's body was stuffed in a drum and the other where the husband was strangled and an attempt was made to pass it off as a case of snakebite -- that made the nation shiver in fear.

On Sunday morning, a farmer in Patkhauli village discovered a trolley bag abandoned in his field. Inside were the severed upper and lower halves of a man's body, the police said.

The police managed to identify the victim, Naushad Ahmed (38), through an airline tag which was still attached to the suitcase, they said.

When officers visited Naushad's home, his wife Razia initially claimed he had gone out the night before. 

However, bloodstains and another suitcase inside the house raised suspicion. Upon questioning, Razia confessed to killing her husband with the help of her nephew, Ruman, the police said.

Ahmed had returned to his native Bhatauli village just 10 days ago. 

Additional Superintendent of Police Arvind Verma said the murder took place around 2 am. 

Razia, Ruman, and his friend Himanshu executed the plan. They chopped the body in two, stuffed it in a suitcase and transported it in a vehicle to dump it in a field about 55 km from his home, he said.

“Within six hours, our team traced the barcode on the airline tag and identified the victim. Razia has been arrested, and the murder weapons -- an axe, a chopper, and a pestle -- have been recovered,” the officer said. 

Ruman and Himanshu are absconding, he said.

Naushad's sister alleged that Razia and Ruman were having an affair and demanded strict punishment. 

Naushad is survived by his six-year-old daughter.

On March 4, Saurabh Rajput, a former merchant navy officer, was killed at his house in Meerut’s Indiranagar area by his wife, Muskan Rastogi and her lover Sahil. The two allegedly drugged Rajput and stabbed him to death. They later dismembered Rajput’s body, severed his head and hands, and hid them in a blue drum filled with cement.

Muskan, was found to be pregnant during a preliminary test, and Sahil are currently lodged in a Meerut jail.

On April 12, Amit Kashyap (30) was strangled to death by his wife Ravita (27), and her lover Amardeep (19). After committing the gruesome murder, the two placed a venomous snake near Kashyap’s bed to make it seem like a case of snakebite.

Ravita and Amardeep were taken into custody after the post-mortem report blew the lid off their plot as it showed that Kashyap died due to asphyxiation.