Gujarat Forest Officer Murders Family While Having Long-Term Affair With Colleague

The forest officer from Gujarat who was arrested had been recently transferred to Bhavnagar.

A Gujarat forest officer, who was apprehended for murdering his wife and two children and disposing of their bodies in a pit near his Bhavnagar residence, had maintained a romantic relationship with a colleague for approximately four years.

Police investigations revealed that the accused, Assistant Conservator of Forests (ACF) Shailesh Khambhla, aged 39, developed a friendship with a female forest worker in 2022, which eventually evolved into an affair. However, it remains uncertain whether the woman was involved in the murders.

Authorities have questioned the female colleague in relation to the case.

While the forest officer had recently relocated to Bhavnagar due to a transfer, his family - his 40-year-old wife Nayana, 13-year-old daughter Pritha, and 9-year-old son Bhavya - were residing in Surat. The family had traveled to Bhavnagar for a brief holiday but mysteriously disappeared shortly after arriving, causing concern among relatives and initiating an extensive search operation.

On November 5, Khambhla reported to police that his security guard had witnessed his family departing in an auto-rickshaw while he was on duty. The guard, however, contradicted this claim. Police became suspicious due to Khambhla's unusual behavior during questioning and his apparent indifference regarding his missing family members.

Initial examination of Khambhla's phone records indicated communication with a junior officer named Girish Vania. The accused had instructed Vania to excavate two pits behind his residence for garbage disposal on November 2. Four days later, Khambhla requested Vania to send a dumper truck to fill the trenches, claiming a 'nilgai' had fallen into one pit and needed covering.

On November 16, police recovered the bodies of Khambhla's wife and children from these pits.

Following this discovery, the forest officer was arrested.

During interrogation, Khambhla confessed to the crime, revealing it was premeditated. He had sent a message from his wife's phone to his own phone after the murders, claiming she was leaving to live with someone else. He subsequently activated airplane mode on her device.

Officials stated that a marital conflict between the accused and his wife appeared to be the immediate motive for the crime, with the victims being smothered with a pillow.

According to police reports, Khambhla claimed his wife did not want to live with his in-laws in Surat and had been persistently requesting that they cohabitate in Bhavnagar—a request he consistently refused.

(With inputs from Mahendra Prasad)