A woman allegedly killed her husband with the help of her lover and buried his body inside their home and covered it with tiles in Palghar district of Maharashtra, police said on Monday.

The decomposed body, believed to be nearly two-week old, was exhumed on Monday and process was underway to register a case of murder and destruction of evidence, they said.

The Mira-Bhayandar, Vasai-Virar (MBVV) police, under whose jurisdiction the incident took place, have launched a search for the woman, Chaman Devi (28), and her paramour Monu Sharma (20), who was the couple's neighbour, an officer said.

The victim was identified by police as Vijay Chouhan (34), a resident of a housing society in the Gangnipada area of Nallasopara, a distant suburb of Mumbai.

Talking to reporters, senior inspector Jitendra Vankoti of the Pelhar police station said on July 10, two brothers of Chouhan wanted to meet him as they needed money to purchase a new house.

"They called him (Chouhan), but his phone was coming switched off. Hence, they came down to his home and enquired with his wife, who told them her husband had gone out for some work. They called her on July 19 to find out if Chouhan has returned home, but her phone was coming switched off," he said.

The brothers of Chouhan came to check again and found he was not at home and his wife was also missing, said the inspector.

"When they inspected the house they found new tiles on the floor. Suspecting something fishy they removed the tiles only to find a foul smell emanating from the floor," he said.

On being alerted, a police team arrived in the house and exhumed the body in the presence of doctors, forensic experts and local tehsildar, according to Vankoti.

The highly decomposed body was sent for an autopsy to state-run JJ Hospital in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, neighbours informed Chouhan's brothers that he had not been seen since July 10 and his wife was also missing since July 19, said police.

Police suspect Chouhan's wife killed her husband with the help of her paramour and fled.

However, it was not immediately clear to how the duo killed the victim and why.

Police said they suspect another person from the same locality was involved in the crime.

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