The news agency PTI reported that a prisoner corpus petition filed by a 18-year-old woman’s live-in partner in the Gujarat High Court last month led the revelation of her ‘murder’ by her father and uncle, found to be dead a few days before the hearing.
Police in Banskantha district said that the accused tried to portray his death as a ‘suicide’. According to the FIR filed on Wednesday, Haresh Chaudhary, who is already married and has a son, fell in love with the woman after giving a lift from Tharad Town to Palanpur. Assistant Superintendent of Police Suman Nala said, “It is not yet clear that Chaudhary told the woman about her marital status.”
Police said that his uncle, Shivramby Patel, has been arrested, while his father, Sendhabi Patel is attempts to nab.
When was the captive corpus filed?
Officer Suman Nala said that while acting on the complaint of his live-in partner Haresh Chaudhary, the police on Wednesday registered a cedar and killed the woman’s father, Sendabahi Patel, and uncle, Shivrambi Patel.
“The girl loved Chaudhary. The two also signed a live-in agreement, which was not acceptable for Sendhabhbi and her brother. Thus, both strangled her after fainting her on 24 June. They cremated her without informing the police.”
Banskantha Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana ordered an inquiry into the death of the woman after Chaudhary, a resident of Vadgamada village in Tharad taluka last week, alleging in an application that he could have been killed by his relatives, who opposed their relationship and intended to marry someone else.
What happened after a visit to Ahmedabad
In May, the couple went to Ahmedabad, where they formalized their live-in relations through an agreement before a visit to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
On June 12, the police officers of Tharad traced him to a hotel in Rajasthan, with one of the relatives of the woman. The girl was handed over to her uncle, while Chaudhary was taken into custody in connection with an old case under the prohibition act at Bhachu in Kach district.
On being released from jail on 21 June, Chaudhary noticed that the woman had sent her two Instagram messages on 17 June, fearing that her family could kill her or force her to marry someone else. Chaudhary said that he was unable to see the messages when he was disorganized.
He then contacted his Solicitor, who filed a prisoner corpus petition in the Gujarat High Court, requesting that the woman be presented before the court.
However, on 25 June exactly two days before the hearing – Chaudhary came to know that he had died on the night of 24 June, and his funerals were held the next morning.
Police investigation later revealed, according to the FIR, that the woman’s father and uncle resolved to kill her, fearing that she may meet again with the complainant.
“When the girl was at Shivrambai’s house in Dantia village of Tharad on the night of 24 June, she was offered a sleeping bullet milk. When she fainted, the couple strangled her and demonstrated their last rites to hide their crime the next morning.”
