Thane police suspect honour killing in hanging woman case in Kalyan

THANE: The police in Thane near Mumbai have cracked the December 31 murder of a 23-year-old woman from Uttar Pradesh near Kalyan railway station. With the investigation has revealed honour killing as the motive behind the crime, the police arrested the victim's brother yesterday who is suspected of the murder.

“We went through CCTV footage of the railway station and adjoining areas. We have also received some confidential and scientific evidence on the spot and after investigation, we ascertained the identity of the dead body said Pratap Dighavkar, Addl. Commissioner (East Region) of Thane police. He added that the police have registered a case of murder against four persons, including the father and the brother of the deceased Manita Yadav whose body was found hanging from a tree in Kalyan in Thane district. 

“ We registered a case of murder against the girl’s brother who was arrested later yesterday,” said Dighavkar who added that apart from the four people involved, the police suspect that more people might be involved in the girl’s murder.

Though the police initially refused to divulge the names of the accused, PTI later identified the accused as Manita's father Lotu Yadav, her brother Tirthraj Yadav and relatives Ramakanat Yadav and Manoj Yadav.

According to police, Manita's family members were filled with a sense of shame after her in-laws dropped her at their home in Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh last month while accusing her of having an extra-marital affair with another man. The deceased was married to a man from a village in Azamgarh district.

Another police official said Tirthraj, Ramakant and Manoj boarded a train for Mumbai on December 30 from Azamgarh under the pretext of taking Manita to her another brother who is a resident of suburban Vikhroli in Mumbai.

"They got down at Kalyan railway station and took Manita to a secluded place, where she was strangulated and her body was hanged from a tree to make it appear as a suicide,"  said the police officer adding that Manita was killed on the night of December 31.

The body was spotted by some locals on January 1 who, in turn, informed the police. He said the CCTV cameras at the railway station captured the accused persons getting down with Manita.

The official said the first major clue in solving the crime was a SIM card they had found in the pocket of the sweater worn by the deceased woman. The card was registered in the name of his brother whom police tracked down in Azamgarh, he added.

 “The case is in a primitive stage and is being investigated upon,” said Dighavkar.

(With inputs from Online Desk)