Gujarat school principal kills teacher wife during census fieldwork, burns body

2 min readAhmedabadJun 5, 2026 05:44 PM IST

The police were called in after a burnt body was found in an isolated place near Chaola village in Rural Ahmedabad. (File Photo)

The Ahmedabad Rural police Thursday arrested the principal of a primary school for allegedly killing his wife and burning her body.

On Wednesday, the police were called in after a burnt body was found alongside the Narmada canal near Chaola village in Rural Ahmedabad. After a primary inquiry, it was confirmed to be that of Reena Baldev Zala, a primary school teacher in Chaloda and resident of Dholka.

An FIR booking an anonymous person(s) for murder was filed at Dholka rural police station. The Surveillance Squad (D Staff) and Local Crime Branch (LCB) were also deployed to investigate the case.

A statement from the Dholka Rural police station said, “When the police brought in the husband of the deceased, Baldev Toya Zala, in for questioning, he broke down and confessed to the crime.”

The police statement said, “Baldev Zala told investigators that both he and his wife had been deployed for the census and that on June 3, the couple had gone to Chaloda village for the same. He, however, drove the two-wheeler into an isolated place in the bushes and repeatedly hit his wife with a stone, killing her on the spot. He then allegedly siphoned petrol from his vehicle and burned her body.”

Baldev Zala allegedly left the spot, went back home, and told relatives that Reena Zala had gone missing. He had even filed a missing person’s report with the police.

The police said the couple had been experiencing marital disputes for quite some time.