Rajkot (PTI): Mohammed Siraj grabbed four wickets, while Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja picked up two each as England were dismissed for 319 in 71.1 overs on day three of the third Test against India here on Saturday.

Thanks to the all-out effort of the bowlers, India have the upper hand with a 126-run first-innings lead.

India had made 445 in their first innings with Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja scoring centuries.

England were 290/5 at lunch, but after the break Siraj took the wickets of Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed and James Anderson, while Jadeja accounted for the dangerous Ben Stokes (41) and Tom Hartley.

Opener Ben Duckett, who overnight 133, made 153 off 151 deliveries before being dismissed by left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav, who grabbed two wickets before lunch.

England, resuming the third day on their overnight score of 207/2, lost Joe Root (18), who could add just nine runs to his overnight score of nine before being dismissed by Jasprit Bumrah.

The next man in, Jonny Bairstow, departed without opening his account with Kuldeep trapping him in front of the wicket. Then, Kuldeep took the prize wicket of Duckett to reduce the visitors to 260/5.

Brief scores:

India 1st innings: 445 all out in 130.5 overs.

England 1st innings: 319 in 71.1 overs (Ben Duckett 153, Ollie Pope 39, Ben Stokes 41; Md Siraj 4/84, Kuldeep Yadav 2/77, Ravindra Jadeja 2/51)

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.



Ranchi (PTI): A 25-year-old man, who works as a butcher, allegedly strangled to death his live-in partner and chopped her body into 40 to 50 pieces in a forested area in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, police said on Wednesday.

The accused, identified as Naresh Bhengra, was arrested.

The matter came to light after around a fortnight after the killing when a stray dog was found with human body parts near Jordag village in Jariagarh police station on November 24.

Bhengra was in a live-in relationship with the deceased, a 24-year-old woman also from Khunti district, in Tamil Nadu for the past couple of years. Sometime back, he returned to Jharkhand, got married to another woman without telling his partner anything and went back to the southern state without his wife to join her.

"The brutal incident occurred on November 8 when they reached Khunti as the accused who had married another woman did not wish to take her home. Instead, he took her to a forest near his house at Jordag village in Jariagarh police station and chopped the body into pieces. The man has been arrested," Khunti Superintendent of Police Aman Kumar told PTI.

Inspector Ashok Singh who investigated the case said the man worked in a butcher shop in Tamil Nadu and was expert in slicing chicken.

“He admitted chopping the body parts of the woman into 40 to 50 pieces before leaving those in the forest for wild animals to feast on. The police recovered several parts on November 24 after a dog in the area was seen with a hand," Singh told PTI.

Singh said that the woman, who was unaware of his marriage, pressured him to return to Khunti. After reaching Ranchi, they boarded a train on November 24 and headed to the man's village.

"Under a plan, the man took her to Khunti in an autorickshaw near his home and asked her to wait. He returned with sharp weapons and strangulated her with her dupatta after raping her. He then cut the body into 40 to 50 pieces and left for his home to live with his wife," Singh said.

The woman, however, had informed her mother that she had boarded a train and would be living with her partner, the police officer said.

Following the recovery of body parts, a bag was also found in the forest with the murdered woman's belongings including her Aadhaar card. The mother of the woman was called at the spot and she identified her daughter's belongings.

"The mother suspected the man behind the crime who after being nabbed by the police admitted to chopping the woman into pieces," the official added.

The incident has sent shockwaves among people in the region, with the Shraddha Walker murder case of 2022 still fresh in their memory.

Walker was killed by her live-in partner who chopped her body into pieces before dumping them in the jungle in South Delhi’s Mehrauli.