Woman living with partner found dead in Palsana flat

Surat: A 22-year-old woman was found dead under suspicious circumstances at a residential society in Palsana town of Surat district on Saturday, prompting police to launch an investigation into a possible murder case. The deceased was identified as Mehvish Khatun, a native of Uttar Pradesh, who had been living in a rented flat with her live-in partner for the past few months.

According to police, they were alerted by people of Bagumara village after Khatun did not respond and the door of her flat remained locked for a long time. Police broke open the door of the flat and found Khatun dead.

Sources said the woman was found half-naked and some objectionable material was recovered from near the body, raising suspicion over the circumstances leading to her death.

During the preliminary investigation, police learned that Khatun had been living with a man identified as Shivam, who has gone missing following the incident. Investigators are trying to trace him and determine his role, if any, in the woman’s death.

Police inspector B D Zalariya said the woman’s family members have been informed about the incident and the body has been sent for postmortem.

“Once we get the postmortem report, we would be able to comment on the cause of death. At present, we are investigating the incident from all angles,” Zalariya told TOI.

Police sources indicated that investigators suspect foul play and are probing the case as a possible murder.