E-Paper
Delhi man strangles pregnant daughter, stages suicide after dumping body in Chambal river
The case pertains to Delhi’s Tigri police station limits, where the victim’s family had been living after moving from Basoni village in Agra district several years ago. Police said the victim’s father, who was involved in the tent and wedding services business in Delhi, was allegedly upset after his unmarried daughter became pregnant by a minor boy from the same locality.
The search for the body of an 18-year-old Delhi woman continued in the Chambal river on Wednesday, days after police alleged her father and brother-in-law strangled her to death because she was four months pregnant out of wedlock. Investigators said the accused allegedly staged the crime as a suicide by posing as they performed her last rites on the riverbank before allowing the body to drift away and returning to Delhi claiming she had died by suicide.
The case pertains to Delhi’s Tigri police station limits, where the victim’s family had been living after moving from Basoni village in Agra district several years ago. Police said the victim’s father, who was involved in the tent and wedding services business in Delhi, was allegedly upset after his unmarried daughter became pregnant by a minor boy from the same locality. Investigators alleged her father was distressed after learning about the pregnancy and planned to kill her.
According to police, the father took his daughter to Agra on the pretext of medical treatment. On July 28, he, along with his son-in-law, who is married to the victim’s sister, and the victim reached their native village and stayed at a relative’s house. The following morning, they allegedly took her to the Chambal river under Basauni police station limits.
Investigators alleged the father first pressured his daughter to end her life. When she refused, he and his son-in-law allegedly drowned her in the river before allowing the body to drift away.
Police alleged the accused then got photographs clicked on the riverbank to create evidence that the victim had died by suicide. Investigators said the images later raised suspicion as the father appeared to be looking into the camera and posing, making the scene appear inconsistent with his claim.
After returning to Delhi without his daughter, the father allegedly told neighbours she had died by suicide after consuming poison. He also allegedly showed them the photographs stored on his mobile phone to support his version of events.
Assistant commissioner of police (ACP), Pinahat, Anil Kumar said the case was initially registered as a kidnapping at Delhi’s Tigri police station after a complaint was lodged. “However, as the investigation progressed and the father’s alleged role surfaced, Delhi Police added charges of murder, causing disappearance of evidence and criminal conspiracy against him and his son-in-law,” he said.
Both accused were arrested on August 1 and later produced before a court. Delhi Police subsequently obtained five days’ police custody remand and brought them to Agra to reconstruct the sequence of events and recover the victim’s body with assistance from the local police.
“The matter relates to Delhi. Two accused have been brought to Agra on police custody remand. Efforts are being made to trace the girl’s body in the Chambal river. Teams have been deployed and Delhi Police will be informed about the outcome,” Anil Kumar added.
Police said the search operation in the Chambal river continued on Wednesday, but the body had not been recovered till the filing of this report.
