Minor girl, boyfriend held for killing her father in UP’s Etawah

Police in Uttar Pradesh's Etawah arrested a 17-year-old girl and her 21-year-old boyfriend for allegedly murdering her father after sedating him. The accused allegedly concealed his body in a trunk before fleeing. Police recovered suspected murder weapons and evidence

Etawah: A 17-year-old girl and her 21-year-old boyfriend have been arrested here for allegedly murdering her father, a security guard, by slitting his throat and crushing his face and head with a stone after giving him sleeping pills, according to police.

The accused allegedly wrapped the body in a blanket, stuffed it into a trunk and locked the house before fleeing together, Senior Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said on Monday.

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The victim, Shyam Sunder Katheriya, lived with his younger daughter in the Kashiram Colony area near the TB Hospital under the Civil Lines police station limits, the SSP said.

According to police, the case came to light after the victim’s elder daughter, Kajal Katheriya, approached the police on October 25. She told them that she had been unable to contact her father and younger sister for two to three days.

When she reached her parental home with her father-in-law, she found a foul smell emanating from the house. The body of her father was found wrapped in a blanket inside a trunk, while her younger sister was missing, police said.

A case was registered, and a police team led by Civil Lines station house officer K K Mishra, along with forensic experts, inspected the scene and collected evidence. The body was sent for post-mortem examination.

Based on preliminary findings and a tip-off, police apprehended the teenage girl and her boyfriend, Abhilash Singh, a resident of the area, on the road leading to Sarai Aser village, the SSP said.

During interrogation, the accused allegedly told police that they had come in contact around five months ago when the girl shared her phone number with Abhilash for a mobile recharge. Their conversations subsequently developed into a romantic relationship, police said.

When Shyam Sunder learnt about the relationship, he initially tried to counsel his daughter. However, after she refused to end it, he allegedly began opposing the relationship and assaulting her, leading to growing resentment between the father and daughter, according to police.

The two allegedly conspired to eliminate Shyam Sunder, whom they considered an obstacle to their relationship, officials said.

As part of the plan, Abhilash procured sleeping pills on October 21. The girl allegedly mixed the pills in tea and gave it to her father. When he fell into a deep sleep that night, the two allegedly tied him to a cot with a rope and repeatedly stabbed him in the throat with a knife, they added.

To ensure his death, they allegedly crushed his head and face with a stone pestle kept in the house, police said.

They subsequently wrapped the body in a blanket, placed it inside a trunk and locked the house before fleeing.

Police said they had recovered the knife allegedly used in the murder, the stone pestle, bloodstained clothes and the trunk at the instance of the accused.

Further investigation into the case is underway.