RANCHI: A man was arrested in Jharkhand's Garhwa district for allegedly killing his minor daughter and her one-day-old infant to 'protect the family's honour'. The incident occurred at Oraiya village, under Meral police station area.
The incident came into light after the girl’s partner lodged a missing persons complaint on October 5, stating that his wife and their newborn had gone missing.
On the basis of suspicion, the woman’s father Anil Choudhary was interrogated. He confessed that he killed his daughter and grandchild, and hid their bodies.
“During the interrogation, the victim’s father stated that his daughter Radhika, was in a love affair with a man in Palamu. Later, she ran away with the man against her father's wishes,” said Officer in-charge of Meral Police Station, Vishnukant.
The police later recovered the bodies based on his statement and sent them to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS), Ranchi, for postmortem.
It was revealed during investigation that Radhika had reportedly eloped with a youth from Palamu district against her father’s wishes. The couple had a child on October 2 at Garhwa district hospital, following which both the mother and the child went missing.
The deceased's boyfriend was sent to jail under the POCSO Act a few months back, but he was later released, he added.
Police officials informed that an FIR has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and the accused has been sent to judicial custody.
Meral station in-charge confirmed that the case appears to be an “honour killing” and described it as deeply disturbing.
Meanwhile, investigations are on to determine whether anyone else was involved in the act or helped the accused to conceal the crime.