A beheaded body of a 16-year-old girl was found in Gaya district of Bihar on January 6, which led to protests in the town demanding the immediate arrest of the culprits. Police suspect it to be a case of honour killing.
The girl’s body with her face burnt with acid and chest deeply bruised was recovered on January 6 from near her home at Patwatoli of the Manpur area in Gaya district. She had gone missing from home on December 28 but said to have returned after three days on December 31. Her father had lodged a case on January 4 at the Buniyadganj police station alleging that her daughter could have been abducted. However, the local police recovered her beheaded body from a field in Joda Masjid-Baksaria Tola locality near her home in a mutilated state. Her severed head was later found nearby.
Candle march
Locals on Wednesday took out a protest candle march in Gaya demanding the immediate arrest of those involved in the killing. The family members had alleged that the police had not acted promptly in the case otherwise the life of the girl could have been saved. Earlier, the police had taken into custody Leela Patwa, friend of the victim girl’s father, with whom she was seen last time on December 31 night. But, he denied his involvement in the killing. Police said his mobile phone call details revealed that he was in touch with local criminals. He was later sent to jail.
Gaya Superintendent of Police Rajeev Mishra told journalists on Thursday that it was a case of suspected honour killing. “The girl had eloped with someone and it might have enraged her family members as the Patwa [weavers] community follows practice of socially boycotting people indulging in love affairs and marrying outside their community,” he said.
“Prima facie it looks like a case of honour killing done with the help of a butcher,” he said. “Conflicting statements of the victim’s family raised suspicions of foul play and we suspected their role in the killing… initially it was suspected to be a case of rape and murder… but we are yet to receive her autopsy report,” another district police official said.
“Two police teams during investigation found evidence that it was a suspected case of honour killing,” said the official.
“We called the parents to the police station for many times to record their statement after recovery of the girl’s body but they did not turn up … their suspicious activities lent credence to our suspicion that it was a case of honour killing,” he said.