In suspected cases of `honour killings’ half-burnt bodies of two minor lovers were found hanging in a house under construction in Mahoba while another teenage lovers were found dead in Basti district.
In Basti, a heavy police force was deployed as the incident flared up communal tension in the area as both the victims were of different religions.
According to reports from Basti, the dead bodies of a youth and a girl were recovered in fields under Rudhauli police station of the district. The victims were later identified and were found to be having an affair.
As both the victims belonged to different religions, apprehending a clash between the two communities, senior officers reached the spot and summoned a heavy police force to avert any untoward incident. The bodies were also sent for autopsy to confirm whether it was a case of suicide or `honour killing’.
Reports said that the body of a youth, identified as Ankit hailing from Purva village under Rudhauli police station, was found in a sugarcane field outside the village on Saturday evening. There were injury marks on the body.
The family members of Ankit alleged that he was called and taken away by another youth, identified as Mujibullah, on Friday night. Ankit used to work as a tractor driver at that house on Mujibullah.
The family members claimed to have made several calls on Ankit’s mobile phone but the bell kept ringing and no one attended the call. The family members also claimed that they went to the tractor owner's house to enquire about the whereabouts of Ankit but they refused to reveal anything.
The family members said that they also learnt that Amina, the daughter of the tractor owner, also died and her body was buried on Saturday afternoon without informing anyone.
The family members of Ankit gave these details to the Rudhauli police.
DIG Devipatan Range, RK Bhardwaj, Additional Superintendent of Police Deependra Chaudhary, Circle Officer Ambika Ram, Circle Officer (City), SHO Rudhauli, SHO Sonha, SHO Walterganj, SOG team along with a large number of police personnel reached the spot after finding the tension between the two communities, one belonging to the youth and other to the girl.
The cops subsequently grilled the tractor owner and his family and suspecting honour killing exhumed the body of the girl who died on Friday night. Her body also had injury marks.
The cops said the bodies had been sent for autopsy and the probe so far pointed that the youth and girl were having an affair to which the girl’s family was opposed.
Sources said that the girl’s family caught both in a compromising position after which they killed both.
Police are waiting for the post-mortem report before heading with the investigation.
In Mahoba, Sonu Raikwad, a 17-year-old boy from a village under Ajnar police station of the district, had left his house on August 16 to go to the house of his aunt Lalta Raikwad, living in Nayapura Bandhanward, Mahoba, but he did not return. The family members lodged a report when he did not return home.
On Saturday evening, a foul smell emanated from a house under construction so the people informed the local Ajnar police station about it. After the information, the police reached the spot and opened the door of the house and were shocked to find the bodies of a boy and a girl hanging from the trap of the house. The condition of the bodies indicated that both had died several days ago.
Taking stock of the incident, the police interrogated the neighbours and later called the boy’s family members who identified the victim as their missing son. They also identified the body of the girl, a 16-year-old cousin (aunt’s daughter) of the boy.
Sonu was preparing to join the police after passing the high school examination whereas, the girl was a student of class 9. It is said that a love affair was going on between the two. The girl’s family was also informed but both the parties revealed nothing except that both probably committed suicide.
The police investigation, however, indicated that the two were having a love affair and their families were opposed to it as they both were relatives. Suspecting it to be a case of honour killing, the police are investigating the deaths from every angle. Police also questioned the families of both the victims.