PATNA: A 16-year-old boy in Bihar’s eastern Purnea district was hacked to death allegedly by his girlfriend’s family, in what appears to be a case of honour killing due to caste differences. Three people have been arrested in this connection.
The victim, Kanhaiya Kumar, was the only son to his parents, and was born to them after eight daughters. His father, Anil Bhagat, a mason by profession, alleged that Kanhaiya’s girlfriend’s family brutally killed him and threw his body in a river near their home.
Kanhaiya’s body was recovered from the Soura, a rivulet passing by Purnea town, on Sunday. It was packed in a gunny sack and bore deep cuts made by a sharp weapon, said police sources.
After Kanhaiya went missing on Friday evening, his father had lodged a missing person’s report at the police station on Saturday and the entire family was on a frantic lookout.
Based on Anil Bhagat’s statement and circumstantial evidence, police arrested the girl’s businessman father, her uncle, who is an insurance agent and another person for Kanhaiya’s murder.
“A murder case has been registered at Khazanchi Hat police station. We would recommend this case for speedy trial,” said Purnea superintendent of police Nishant Tiwary.
Kanhaiya Kumar had written his CBSE standard X board examinations in March along with his girlfriend, who was his classmate at a private school in Purnea town.
They were in love for the past two years, but the girl’s family was against their relationship due to their caste difference, said Anil Bhagat.
“The girl had invited him to her house on Friday evening. We would not have let him go if we knew what was in store for him there. They brutally killed my only son,” said a devastated Anil Bhagat.
In Bihar’s deeply caste-ridden society, inter-caste relationships between young men and women hardly progress to marriage due to stiff opposition from both families.