Balurghat, Nov. 4 -- Panic and horror gripped the Narayanpur area of Gangarampur Municipality in South Dinajpur district on Wednesday morning, after a 43-year-old man allegedly decapitated his wife and was found sitting in a local temple meditating with her severed head. The accused, Rintu Ghosh (43), a former NBSTC worker, a conductor, was arrested by the Gangarampur Police. The deceased was identified as Seema Sarkar Ghosh (35). The couple had been married for 15 years and have two minor sons, who were reportedly forced to sit beside him during the ordeal.

According to locals, people gathering flowers for morning prayers noticed Ghosh sitting on the temple floor with both hands raised, meditating alongside his wife's severed head, with fresh blood dripping from it. Holding the head and a sharp weapon, he briefly wandered the neighbourhood before being arrested.

Describing the incident, neighbour Bablu Ghosh said: "The local temple usually remains open. In the morning, people noticed Rintu sitting inside. Seeing that he hadn't come out even after a considerable time, a person peeped inside out of curiosity. He could not believe his own eyes. Rintu was sitting inside with a severed head. We want strict punishment."

Relative Rajesh Pramanik stated: "Rintu ran a small business for a few days. For some days, he was eating vegetarian food and acting like a tantric practitioner. No one can understand what actually drove him to commit this act."

Seema's brother added: "He used to work as a temporary bus conductor, but a few days ago, he lost his job. After that, he suddenly became very religious. My sister did not have any major dispute or quarrel with my brother-in-law. I had never heard of anything like this before."

While being led into the police vehicle, Rintu Ghosh himself shouted: "I am a psycho! I have become a psycho. I used to do work for the government but my job was taken away and I was given no chance."

South Dinajpur Superintendent of Police Abhishek Gupta confirmed: "A man has been arrested for the murder of his wife. An investigation into the incident has

been initiated."

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.