Patna: In an apparent case of honour killing, the family members of an 18-year-old woman allegedly slit her throat and left her for dying near a cremation ground in Mahishi area of Saharsa district on Sunday over her illicit affair with her brother-in-law, police said. Lalita Kumari, a resident of Mohanpur village in Nauhatta police station area, was found in an unconscious state, but she succumbed to her injuries on way to hospital.
Sadar subdivisional police officer Alok Kumar said villagers found Lalita on a pile of straw in an injured state near Krishnanagar cremation ground in Mahishi police station area. They then informed the local police station, after which Mahishi station house officer (SHO) Amarnath Kumar arrived at the scene and sent the unconscious woman to Saharsa Sadar Hospital. However, the doctors at the sadar hospital referred her to a better health facility after initial care. The police then took her to Darbhanga Medical College and Hospital, but she passed away on the way.
"Preliminary investigation revealed that the woman was in an illicit relationship with her elder sister's husband. Her mother told the police about the affair. After the family came to know about it, they sent her to her maternal grandmother's home in Nauhatta. We have not received any formal complaints yet, as the family is busy with cremation, but we suspect that it is a case of honour killing. Further action will be taken on the basis of a complaint, and the guilty will not be spared," said Mahishi SHO Kumar.