5 of a family arrested for killing minor daughter over ‘affair’

Prayagraj: The Pratapgarh police on Friday arrested five members of a family, including parents, for killing their 16-year-old daughter in Peethapur village allegedly over a love affair.They tried to portray the killing as suicide and buried the body near a pond.Police said the family members killed their daughter on June 22 and fled away. The mutilated body was recovered near a pond on July 3. Those arrested were parents of the girl-- Indra Mani Mishra (35) and his wife Moni (32)—and relatives Ram Mani Mishra (40) and his wife Kanchan Mishra (38), and a minor. Police stated that on July 1, Rakesh Dubey, the maternal uncle of the slain girl from Kodarkala, lodged a complaint with Aspur Devsara police about the mysterious disappearance of his niece and suspected her killing. He informed the police that five family members, including the parents, had escaped from their house after locking it. He also told the police that it was the parents who called and informed him that the girl was missing in the last week of June and later claimed that she had committed suicide.The police, acting upon the complaint, lodged an FIR under appropriate sections and nabbed the family members. The police claimed that the girl was seeing a youth which the family didn't like. Despite their objection, the deceased continued her relationship with the youth. The family members had even assaulted the youth after seeing him the girl.Following their interrogation, the body was recovered in the presence of a magistrate and sent for postmortem.