Lured from Gujarat, shot dead in Sonbhadra: UP cops crack ‘honour killing’ of couple

On Wednesday, police arrested the woman’s brothers, Munna Kumar (22) and Rahul alias Siddharth (28), for their alleged involvement in the case even as a manhunt has been launched to arrest the other two brothers, who are absconding.

In June, the woman eloped with Shaw, who lived in her neighbourhood and married him against her family’s wishes, following which they started living in Gujarat’s Valsad district, said the police. In September, the couple allegedly went missing, following which Shaw’s brother Sunny filed a complaint with the Gujarat Police accusing the woman’s brother of kidnapping him, police said. Soon after, a probe was launched.

On September 24, a woman’s body with a head injury, suspected to be a bullet wound, was recovered from Sonbhadra. Initially, the attempts to identify her by checking with adjoining districts and states yielded no information. Sonbhadra shares its borders with four states, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.

The first headway in the case came with the Gujarat Police contacting their Sonbhadra counterparts seeking information about the missing couple, said the police. Based on the information shared by the Gujarat Police, the Sonbhadra police found that the couple had reportedly left Gujarat by train for Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh, from where they were expected to leave for Bihar. The Sonbhadra police said they shared the deceased woman’s picture with their Gujarat counterparts, which was identified by Shaw’s family. The Sonbhadra police upon contacting their Bihar counterparts learned about the identities of the victims and that the woman’s family was against her marriage.

“After connecting the dots, we finally solved the case and arrested the woman’s two brothers for their role in the honour killing… a probe is going on to trace the other two brothers, Mukesh and Rakesh, who are still at large” said Sonbhadra Superintendent of Police Abhishek Verma. During questioning, the woman’s two brothers confessed to the crime stating that “they had conspired to murder both after they eloped and married,” said SP Abhishek Verma.

The man’s skeleton was found based on the information provided by the accused, said the police, adding that his remains were discovered about 10 kilometres away from the woman’s body.

Police said the woman’s body was also identified by her eldest brother, Rohit Kumar, who lives in Bihar. The Sonbhadra police said that they have so far found no evidence of his involvement in the case. In September, the woman’s brothers allegedly convinced the couple that they had accepted their relationship and wanted to hold a marriage function at their village in Bihar, said the police.

The victims left with accused Mukesh and Rakesh from Gujarat on September 21.

The accused later brought the couple to Mirzapur by train, said Sonbhadra Circle Officer Harsh Pandey. After reaching Mirzapur, where the woman’s brother, Rahul, was already present, they were taken to Sonbhadra in a car. The accused later stopped the car in a secluded place, shot them dead and disposed of the bodies in the forest area, said the police. Further probe into the matter is underway.

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