INTERFAITH NIGHTMARE: Muslim News Anchor who went missing 5 years ago now found to have been STRANGLED by lover named MADHUR

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Chhattisgarh: 5 years after local news anchor went missing, her partner held for murder​

It was in 2018 that Salma Sultana Lashkar, who was 25 years old at the time and worked for a local news channel, met the main accused, Madhur Sahu. Here's what happened.​

Written by Jayprakash S Naidu
Raipur | Updated: August 15, 2023 14:11 IST
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Salma Sultana Lashkar with Madhur Sahu (Express photo)

While reviewing old missing cases of women and children in March, police in Chhattisgarh’s Korba came across the mystery of a local news anchor who has been missing for nearly five years. After a review of the case, police now believe that she was murdered in October 2018 by her live-in partner and that two of his associates had helped him bury the body at a secluded spot over which a national highway has come up since then.
All three accused have been arrested, police said on Monday, adding that investigators have also located the spot below the highway where the victim is suspected to be buried. Police have approached a court for permission to dig up that part of the highway.

It was in 2018 that Salma Sultana Lashkar, who was 25 years old at the time and worked for a local news channel, met the main accused, Madhur Sahu (37). Sahu owned a gym and worked as a gym instructor. They fell in love and started living together in a flat in Korba city, police sources said.

However, according to police sources, both were suspicious of each other and had monetary problems.
On October 21, 2018, Sahu had a fight with Lashkar and then strangled her with a stole, an officer said, adding that Kaushal Shrivas (29), a friend of Sahu’s, helped him. Sahu then also called up another friend, Atul Sharma (26), who helped them to bury the body near Kohadiya bridge in the city. A year later, work started for a national highway that would pass through that spot
When Lashkar’s family members called Sahu to ask about her, he told them that she had left for Mumbai for work. However, in January 2019, when her father died and she did not turn up for the last rites, the family’s suspicions that something was amiss solidified. They then approached the Kusmunda police station in Korba and filed a missing complaint. However, no progress was made in the case and police soon abandoned it.
Years later, in March 2023, Korba district Superintendent of Police Uday Kiran instructed that a review be held of cases involving missing women and children.

“During the review, we learnt that the missing woman (Lashkar) had taken a loan of Rs 7 lakh and that someone had been paying her EMIs until the full loan was repaid. We then wrote to the bank to get details of these transactions and learnt that Sahu was making the payments,” said Kir


IPS Robinson Guria, Korba city SP, said: “We tried to trace Sahu, but he was on the run. We then started recording statements of people close to him and we found some contradictions in their statements.” Police also analysed Lashkar’s call data records from 2018 and found further clues.
According to police, the first major break they got was from Atul Sharma, who was allegedly promised Rs 20 lakh by Sahu to keep the murder a secret.

Following Sharma’s confession, police said they laid a trap for Sahu and Shrivas.
When they came to the city to destroy evidence, they were nabbed and arrested on Monday, police said.
Additional SP of Korba district, Abhishek Verma, said: “We used technologies like satellite data, thermal imaging and ground penetrating radar to locate the body. We will approach the court to seek permission to dig up the road to find the body.”

“Once we find the body, we will take DNA samples from her family members and check it with DNA samples from the body to ascertain whether it is Salma,” Inspector Krishna Verma said.

Chhattisgarh: 5 years after local news anchor went missing, her partner held for murder

It was in 2018 that Salma Sultana Lashkar, who was 25 years old at the time and worked for a local news channel, met the main accused, Madhur Sahu. Here's what happened.

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