A video going viral on social media (here, here, and here) shows crime scene visuals of a dead body lying in front of an open fridge. The post claims that the incident took place in God, Madhya Pradesh, involving a Hindu man, Sanjay Patidar, and a Muslim woman, Gulnaz, who eloped, got married, and lived in a rented room. The room had allegedly been locked for four days, and when neighbours broke the door open, they discovered Gulnaz’s dismembered body inside the fridge. Let’s verify the claim made in the post through this article.
The archived post can be found here.
Claim: A Hindu man Sanjay Patidar allegedly murdered his Muslim wife Gulnaz and stored her dismembered body in a fridge in God Madhya Pradesh.
Fact: The incident occurred in Vrindavan Dham Colony, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, where Pratibha alias Pinky’s body was found in a fridge. Puneet Gehlot, the Superintendent of Police, confirmed that Sanjay Patidar and Vinod Dave were co-accused in the murder. Sanjay, who had been in a live-in relationship with Pratibha for five years, confessed that she had been pressuring him for marriage in early 2024. In response, he, along with his accomplice Vinod, strangled her to death. To cover up the crime, they placed the body in the fridge. There is no communal angle to the case. Hence, the claim made in the post is Misleading.
A reverse image search of the keyframes from the viral video led us to an X-post (archived) by the news agency IANS, dated 10 January 2025. The post featured the same visuals as the viral video and reported that police were investigating a case in which a woman’s body was found stuffed inside a fridge at a house in Vrindavan Dham Colony, Dewas, Madhya Pradesh.
Taking clues from the X post, we searched with relevant keywords and found an Aaj Tak report (archived) dated 10 January 2025, which featured the same crime scene photo as in the viral video. According to these reports, a woman’s decomposed body was found in a fridge in Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, causing a stir. The room where the fridge was kept had previously been rented by a tenant who had vacated the premises but left the fridge and some other belongings behind. When a foul smell began emanating from the room, neighbours alerted the police. We also came across several other news reports covering the same incident (here, here, and here).
We also found a video (archived) of Dewas Superintendent of Police Puneet Gehlot sharing details about this incident. He said that information was received regarding the discovery of a woman’s body inside a fridge at Vrindavan Dham Colony. Immediately after receiving the news, the police reached the location. The house belonged to Dhirendra Srivastava, who lives in Indore and was rented to Balbir Rajput. Two rooms in the house had been locked previously by former tenants. The room was cleaned the day before, and when the fridge was opened the following morning, the woman’s body was found.
Upon investigation, it was discovered that before Balbir Rajput, a man named Sanjay from Ujjain had lived there with a woman named Pratibha alias Pinky. Neighbours confirmed that Pratibha had not been seen since March 2024. Sanjay was taken into custody and, during questioning, confessed to the crime. He revealed that he had been in a live-in relationship with Pratibha for five years. They had initially lived in Ujjain for three years before moving to the Dewas house. Sanjay confessed that in early 2024, Pratibha began pressuring him for marriage. In response, he, along with his accomplice Vinod, strangled her to death. To cover up the crime, they placed the body in the fridge.
To sum up, the incident of a woman’s dead body found in a fridge in Madhya Pradesh is shared with a false communal narrative.
This story was originally published by FACTLY and republished by Feminism in India as part of the Shakti Collective.
