Honour killing in UP: Father, son arrested

The Amethi police have arrested the father and brother of a 20-year-old woman who died under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday.

Honour killing in UP: Father, son arrested
Source: IANS

Amethi (UP), Aug 9 (IANS) The Amethi police have arrested the father and brother of a 20-year-old woman who died under mysterious circumstances on Tuesday.

The duo was arrested in connection with a case of culpable homicide not amounting to murder lodged against them.

Police said that the arrests were made after police found contradictions in the statements given by Haider and his father Niamatullah regarding the reason behind Aafreen's death.

The two had claimed that Aafreen died of illness.

However, the postmortem examination of Aafreen's body revealed that she died of antemortem injuries inflicted from a sharp-edged weapon.

Aafreen had died under mysterious circumstances hours after Haider and Niamatullah thrashed her in full public view on Sunday outside their house for her affair with a local youth who happens to be a Hindu. She was buried on Monday morning.

The Amethi police registered a case against Haider and his father.

A video of her being assaulted outside their house had also gone viral on social media. The police suspect the incident might be that of honour killing. 

The case was registered after Haider and Niamatullah failed to satisfactorily answer the police queries regarding Aafreen's death. On Tuesday, police got the body of Aafreen exhumed, after which it was sent for post-mortem examination which belied the claims of Haider and Niamatullah.

Superintendent of police (SP) Amethi, Elamaran G. said: "We have arrested Niamatullah and Haider based on the post-mortem report which states that Aafreen died of antemortem injury caused on her head by a sharp-edged object."

The officer said that the two had initially told the police that Aafreen was suffering from a prolonged illness due to which she died.