A couple has been arrested in India for killing their elderly neighbour, chopping up her body and throwing the dismembered remains down a drain.

The victim, named as 72-year-old Kavita, was killed in her home in the city of Najafgarh in India’s National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi on 30th June.

The couple is accused of spending the night in the victim’s home, chopping up her body, cleaning up the blood, and raiding her valuables.

CCTV images show two people carrying bags, alleged to be the dismembered body, outside a building.

According to local reports, the suspect, Anil Arya, and his partner, name not disclosed, borrowed IDR 150,000 (GBP 8) from their elderly neighbour and are suspected of killing her when she kept asking for it back.

The victim was alone at home at the time of the murder and she was allegedly beaten and strangled before the suspects cut the corpse into three pieces.

Between 9pm on 30th June and 5am the following morning, the couple allegedly cleaned up the victim’s house and took jewellery from her body that they later pawned for IDR 70,000 (GBP 3.5), according to the police.

Police spokesperson Santosh Kumar Meena said they put the remains in three bags and threw them down a drain.

He added: “The woman’s daughter-in-law came to us with a complaint on 3rd July saying she is missing and that her home is locked. On 7th July, she came back to us saying the woman’s neighbour is also missing. We immediately filed a case of abduction and sent a team to track the neighbour.”

The couple were found in the city of Bareilly in the state of Uttar Pradesh and arrested on Monday, the same day the police found and recovered the victim’s remains from the drain.

The investigation is ongoing.