Haldwani, May 2 -- A 32-year-old man was held after he confessed to murdering his 23-year-old live-in partner and disposing of her body in a canal in Khatima of US Nagar district, police said. The crime, which took place in November 2024, was only uncovered on Wednesday after police arrested the accused and recovered the victim's torso, said police. Jal police has started search for the head of the woman in the canal where it was dumped by the accused Inspector MM Dasauni at Khatima police station said Mushtaq Ahmed, a resident of Gauri Kheda village in Sitarganj, confessed to killing 32-year-old Pooja Vishwas, originally from Bengali Colony in Nanakmatta area of US Nagar district. "The two had met at Rudrapur Roadways bus station while en route to Haryana and eventually entered into a live-in relationship in Gurgaon, where Pooja worked at a spa alongside her sister. Mushtaq, a cab driver by profession, later returned to Uttarakhand and married another woman in November 2024 without informing Pooja", he said. He said upon learning of the marriage, Pooja confronted Mushtaq in Udham Singh Nagar. "A local panchayat was reportedly held over the matter. Following this, Mushtaq allegedly lured her to his sister's house in Islam Nagar, Khatima, and on November 16, took her to the underpass near the Nadanna Canal on Tanakpur Road. There, he is accused of murdering her by slitting her throat. He then allegedly disposed of the body by wrapping the torso in a sheet and placing the head in a sack, both thrown into the canal", he said and added the case remained unsolved for months until Pooja's sister filed a missing person report in Gurgaon. "The breakthrough came when Haryana Police, acting on leads, detained Mushtaq. During interrogation, Mushtaq admitted to the crime and led police to the body", he said....