The decomposed body of missing housewife Kona Debnath Das (45) was recovered from the deep forest of Kashari under Jatrapur police station in Sonamura, Sepahijala Tripura, on Tuesday morning, 14 days after she went missing.

Police have arrested her husband Raju Das, along with Dulan Das and Mohammad Mia, both former Trinamool Congress candidates in the last municipal elections, in connection with the murder.

According to police, Kona’s daughter, Preeti Debnath, had lodged a missing person’s diary at the Bilonia Women’s Police Station after her mother went missing on the afternoon of July 28. Based on technical surveillance and phone location tracking, police detained the three accused on Monday night.

Investigations revealed that Raju Das allegedly hired Dulan Das to kill his wife in exchange for Rs 50,000. Dulan, a resident of Ram Thakur Para, Belonia, was reportedly acquainted with the victim and lured her out of the house over the phone before taking her to the Kashari forest. There, Mohammad Mia, a resident of Muslim Para, Rajnagar, allegedly slit Kona’s throat from behind with a meat cleaver.

During interrogation, the accused led police to the crime scene. On Tuesday, in the presence of forensic experts, police recovered the body, which was identified by the victim’s daughter.

The brutal murder has sent shockwaves across the area, with locals expressing outrage over the involvement of political figures in such a heinous crime. Police said further investigation is underway to determine the motive and gather additional evidence.