Man arrested from UP for murder of 17-year-old girl in Begampur; she had rejected his proposal

Three days after a 17-year-old girl was bludgeoned to death with a hammer at her home in outer Delhi’s Begampur, allegedly by a man whose proposal she had recently turned down, the police on Monday said they have arrested the suspect from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh

Three days after a 17-year-old girl was bludgeoned to death with a hammer at her home in outer Delhi’s Begampur, allegedly by a man whose proposal she had recently turned down, the police on Monday said they have arrested the suspect from Hardoi in Uttar Pradesh.

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The police said multiple teams were conducting searches in Delhi-NCR and Uttar Pradesh to nab the suspect, identified as 26-year-old Laik Khan.

The murder case had figured prominently on social media platforms all through Saturday since the girl and the alleged accused belonged to different religions. The police, however, have maintained that religion had nothing to do with the girl’s murder.

Deputy commissioner of police (Rohini) Pramod Kumar Mishra said Khan was arrested on Monday morning from his home town in Hardoi while he was about to flee for another destination. “We are interrogating him to ascertain the exact motive and sequence of events leading to the girl’s murder,” said Mishra, adding that Khan worked in a car mats manufacturing factory in Bawana and knew the girl’s family for the past five years.

On Friday evening, the police said, when the girl’s parents were away at work, Khan visited her house. He allegedly sent her brothers to the market to buy vegetables. When the brothers returned, they found the house locked from outside. They initially thought their sister had left with Khan after locking the house.

“But when they tried calling her and heard her phone ringing from inside the house, they suspected something amiss and broke open the door,” a police officer, who did not want to be named, said.

Inside, the brothers found the girl unconscious and injured. She was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was declared dead on arrival. A murder case was registered at the Begampur police station and investigation was taken up. Khan became the prime suspect as he was the last person seen with the girl and was missing after the crime.

During the probe, the officer said, it was learnt that Khan was very close to the girl’s family and was a frequent visitor to their home. He had even lived with the family for two months when they had moved from Bawana to Begumpur. He would often help the family with their day-to-day affairs,” the officer said.

Police said Khan was on good terms with the girl’s family until recently, when he started developing feelings for the teenager. Recently, he proposed to the girl, but she had turned him down, the DCP said, based on what the police had gleaned from one of her cousins.

Investigators suspected that an argument ensued between the girl and Khan over her rejecting his proposal and that led to him beating her to death with a hammer. “We are interrogating Khan to get a clearer picture of what had led to the murder,” the officer added.

Last week in Mangolpuri, the death of a 25-year-old man who was stabbed to death by a group of men took a communal turn after his affiliation with some Hindu outfit came to fore. Many political leaders visited the house of the deceased as Delhi Police increased security in the area and transferred the case to the crime branch. Seven persons have been arrested in that case so far.