A wall painter based in Siliguri was arrested on Thursday for allegedly murdering his wife and dumping her body in a canal of the Teesta river.

Sources said Md. Ansarul, the accused, had filed a missing diary at Siliguri police station on December 24, saying his wife Renuka Khatun had gone missing the day before.

The couple stayed in the Prakashnagar area of the city. “The police interrogated Ansarul who revealed that he had murdered his 27-year-old wife,” said a source.

“He severed her victim’s head and dumped it and the torso in the canal at Phansidewa (located on the outskirts of Siliguri). Based on his statement, a search has started in the canal for the body,” said the source.