Woman in interfaith marriage murdered for refusal to convert

Varanasi: The Sonbhadra police on Thursday arrested two persons from Bagghanala bridge area of the district for allegedly killing a

woman

whose headless body was recovered from Chopan on September 21. One of the accused is the husband of the woman.

The police claimed the couple had entered into an interfaith marriage some two months back, and she was killed when the man’s family refused to accept her as she was not ready to convert to their religion.

SP Sonbhadra Ashish Srivastava said, “The murdered woman has been identified as Priya Soni of Pritamnagar under the limits of Chopan police station. Among Priya’s killers, one is her husband Ejaz Ahmed and the other is his friend Shoib of Chopan.”

“During initial interrogation, Ejaz has confessed to his crime. On his information, police have recovered the knife, spade and an iron road used in the murder. He mobile phone has also been recovered,” he added.

Srivastava said, “Ejaz has disclosed that after he married Priya about two months back, his family didn’t allow her to enter their home stating that a woman of another religion was not welcome. However, Priya was adamant to go to her in-laws’ home with Ejaz without converting to his religion.”

“Upset over her stand, Ejaz decided to kill Priya with the help of his friend Shoeb. After killing her, the duo beheaded her body to conceal her identity. Later, they dumped her body in jungles near Pritnagar of Chopan area. The head is yet to be recovered,” he said. Priya’s father Laxminarain Soni and her sister Sharmila had identified her with the help of her clothes, shoes and physique, he added