A 22-year-old medical student was strangled to death and set ablaze allegedly by her father, brother and three other male relatives over her love affair in Maharashtra's Nanded district, an official said.
The police on Friday arrested the five for the killing that took place on January 22 in Pimpri Mahipal village under Limbgaon police station, around 600 km from Mumbai, an official said.
Shubhangi Jogdand was strangled to death with a rope by her family members, who later set her ablaze and threw her remains in a stream to destroy the evidence, he said.
Shocking account of family's actions
A young medical student was murdered at Mahipal Pimpri in the district. Her own family ended her life at home. Then they took her body to their own field, burnt her body and buried the remains there. They also threw away her remains in nearby water stream. Then they plowed the field and planted seeds of onion crop. Nobody in the village of 2,000 people had any clue of her family's wrongdoings. Ever since the day she went missing, her classmates had grown suspicious about her whereabouts. After struggling with questions like where did she go and why is her phone not available, finally one of her friends directly reached the district police headquarters and lodged a complaint with the Women's Security Cell there. That was when the investigation picked up speed.
Victim's family was upset after she refused to marry the man they chose for her
The victim was a third year student of Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and her marriage had been fixed. However, she informed the man chosen by her family that she was in love with another man from her village, the official said.
The victim's family had been upset after the wedding was called off, he said.
The woman's father, brother, uncle and cousins took her to a farm on the night of January 22, and they allegedly killed her and tried to destroy the evidence, the official said.
The accused have been arrested under section 302 (murder) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
