Woman killed by her father, brother in Greater Noida hate crime

GREATER NOIDA

A 23-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her father and brother at their Chipyana village home in Greater Noida, police officers said on Thursday — a hate crime that was carried out because she married someone that the family did not approve of. They said the accused also hurriedly cremated the body to hide the evidence, but were caught after neighbours voiced their suspicions to police.

Investigators identified the deceased as Neha Rathore, and said she married her boyfriend Suraj Singh on March 11. A day later, they said, her father Bhanu and her brother Himanshu murdered her.

According to police, the family disapproved of the marriage because Singh is a pickup truck driver. They also noted that Neha and Singh belonged to different castes, but did not officially comment on whether that was also a reason why the woman was killed.

Giving details of the case, police said Neha and Singh — a resident of Bachhlauta village in Hapur — met each other in school and were in a long-term relationship. They said the two decided to get married, and despite resistance from the Rathore family, tied the knot on March 11 at an Arya Samaj temple in Ghaziabad.

The woman then went back to Chipyana village, police said, adding that they are probing why she returned home.

In the early hours of March 12, police said, Bhanu and Himanshu allegedly strangled Neha to death in her sleep, and then to cover up the crime, they hastily performed her last rites around 6:30 am. However, some neighbours became suspicious of the hasty manner in which the cremation took place, and informed police.

“A police investigation was launched, and within three hours, it was uncovered that this was not a natural death but a premeditated murder carried out by the victim’s own father and brother. The accused have confessed to the crime, citing their disapproval of her marriage as the motive. We have arrested both individuals and presented them before the court,” said deputy commissioner of police (Central Noida) Shakti Mohan Awasthi.

“The two were taken into police custody on Thursday and subsequently presented before court, from where they were sent to jail. The accused have been booked under section 101 (murder) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS),” the DCP said

Police said that legal proceedings are underway and further investigation is being conducted to gather more evidence regarding the case and to find out if any other people were also involved.