A village couple from Malerkotla subdivision in Sangrur district have been booked on the charge of murdering their mentally-disturbed daughter.
The victim has been identified as Gurdeep Kaur (21), a school dropout from Sandaur village, 30km from here. The local police have registered a case under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against her parents Bahadur Singh and Surinder Kaur, uncles Harnek Singh and Jagtar Singh, and cousins Gurdeep Singh and Jaspal Singh.

Gurdeep Kaur reportedly went into depression and lost her mental balance after she failed in the Class-12 exams a few years ago. Her parents had locked her in the house for the past many months as she had been hurling stones at villagers.

The police got a tip-off that a body had been cremated in a hush-hush manner at the Sandaur cremation ground late on Wednesday night. A police team reached the spot on Thursday morning and made inquiries from villagers.

Investigating officer Harinder Singh said it came to light that the body was of Gurdeep Kaur. “We have taken the girl’s bone fragments and other remains into possession,” he added.

The police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the family had visited quacks and tantriks for getting the girl cured. A family member of the deceased said neighbours often complained about her violent actions, following which the parents had decided to confine her to the house.

A source said the girl’s family used to beat her up in an effort to rid her of “evil spirits”.

No arrest has been made so far.