20-year-old kills teen lover's father in Noida, she helps hide body

NOIDA: A 20-year-old man, along with his 16-year-old lover, allegedly murdered the girl's father for opposing their relationship by hitting him on the head with an iron rod in Jewar earlier this week.
The victim's neighbours called the police, who took the body away and started a probe. On January 12, police arrested Harendra Singh, a resident of Jewar, and apprehended the minor girl.
Cops said on the night of January 10, the girl's father was returning home when Singh attacked him with the rod. Later, he and his lover hid the body in an empty plot. Before the crime, Singh, who worked as a watchman at a guest house, allegedly followed the girl's father daily to stay updated about his schedule and route.
Sources in the police told TOI that Singh found the father, Pancham Singh (45), walking back home alone from his friend Ramesh Chand's house on January 10. "The accused had an iron road in his hand with which he attacked Pancham from behind and hit him on his head. Pancham bled heavily, and his 16-year-old daughter watched it happen," a source said.
After disposing of the body in a vacant plot, the couple continued with their lives. However, police received information about a body lying unattended on January 11 from neighbours and sent it for a post-mortem.
"After gathering information, our team spoke with the girl as part of our investigation into the case. She said she suspected her ex-lover was behind the act," Rudra Kumar Singh, ACP, Greater Noida, told TOI.
Police detained the girl's ex-lover for questioning. During interrogation, he revealed he had broken up with the girl nearly 5-6 months ago. "He also told us about her current boyfriend, following which we arrested Harendra Singh. During interrogation, he broke down and confessed that the father opposed their relationship. So, he, along with the girl, planned to eliminate him. The girl's mother had died nearly 15 days ago due to a long-term illness, and the girl wanted to marry the man, but her father didn't like him," Singh said.
Police arrested Harendra Singh under IPC sections 302 (murder), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 201 (disappearance of evidence) and 34 (common intention) and sent him to judicial custody. The girl is now at a correction home, police said.