UP: Man kills his cousin over family dispute; arrested after encounter

Etawah (UP), Nov 21 (PTI) A 16-year-old girl was hacked to death with an axe allegedly by her cousin here over a family dispute, police said on Friday.

The police arrested the accused, Neelu alias Pollard, following a brief encounter early Friday, they said.

The incident took place in Muraitha village in the Ikdil area here on Thursday at around 7 pm, Pallavi was assisting her mother in preparing dinner when her cousin Neelu,22, who lived nearby, attacked her with an axe over an ongoing dispute with her father, Raghuraj, who was not home at the time of the incident, Circle Officer Abhay Narayan Rai said.

After committing the crime, Neelu fled the spot. Station House Officer Vikram Singh Chauhan, along with a forensic team, reached the spot after receiving information about the incident, police said.

Neelu was embroiled in a dispute with Raghuraj for a week. He had also lodged a complaint against his uncle earlier, police said.

Pallavi's body was sent for post-mortem, and an FIR was registered following a complaint from the family, they said.

During vehicle checking on the Barela village road, police received a tip-off that Neelu was attempting to flee towards Nagla Harnath village, Etawah Senior Superintendent of Police Brijesh Kumar Srivastava said.

A joint team of the local police and the Special Operations Group (SOG) intercepted Neelu and arrested him following an exchange of fire, during which the accused sustained injuries, Srivastava said, adding that a country-made pistol and cartridges were recovered from him.

The accused is undergoing treatment and is under police custody, police said, adding that further investigation is underway. PTI COR CDN KIS DIV KIS SHS SHS