Minor’s affair with man twice her age led to couple’s murder

Rajkot: An illicit relationship between a 17-year-old girl and a man twice her age became the reason for their murder. They were allegedly killed by the girl’s fiancé and her cousin and their two associates in a house on a farm in Varaliya village of Abdasa taluka in Kutch district on Tuesday night, said police on Saturday after arrested all the four accused in the case.
The accused were identified as Suleman Mandhara (28), the girl’s cousin, Saleem Mandhra (20), the girl's fiancé, Saleem Memon (22), all residents of Varaliya, and Latifsha Pirzada (32), a resident of Amarvandh village of Abdasa taluka. They had allegedly killed Rukhsana Mandhara (17) and her paramour Isaq Mandhara (35).

“While the accused had slit Rukhsana’s throat, they had stabbed Isaq six to seven times in his abdomen. Rukhsana and Isaq had been having an affair for the past two years. When Rukhsana refused her engagement with Saleem Mandhra, Suleman became suspicious, and when he carried out an inquiry, he found out about the affair. It was then that Suleman hatched the conspiracy along with Saleem Mandhra and other accused to murder the couple,” said V R Ulwa, sub-inspector with Kothara police station.

On the day of the crime, the accused were lying in wait for the victims to turn up at the farm where the accused knew the victims often met. "First Rukhsana came and they killed her and then it was Isaq who got killed when he turned up," said Ulwa.

Rukhsana, who originally hailed from Amrapar Vandh of Abdasa taluka, had been living in her paternal aunt Saru Mandhara’s house since past few years.

Rukhsana had left Saru’s home at 3pm on Tuesday, telling her that she was going to the farm to tether cattle. As she did not return till 8 pm, Saru went to the farm to look for her.

In the cabin of the farm, Saru found the bodies of Rukhsana and Isaq.

“The accused were rounded up on the basis of their cellphones' location which was traced to the spot of crime. After their arrest, they broke down and confessed to the crime," added Ulwa.