Woman's mutilated body found in Hathras, police arrest kin for murder

Hathras (UP), Aug 12 (PTI) Two days after a woman's mutilated body was found along a canal bank here, police arrested her father and step-grandfather in connection with the murder.

The woman's stepmother has also been detained in the matter, police said.

Investigations began on August 10 after villagers in the Bahardoi “Shahbazpur area spotted the dismembered body near an irrigation canal. Five police teams were formed to investigate the case as initial efforts to identify the victim failed.

On Monday, the police identified the victim as Tamanna (19) from Adhauna village in Akrabad, Aligarh district. Her uncle, Abdul Farahim Khan, confirmed the identity and lodged a complaint against unidentified persons.

During the investigation, police found that the woman's father, Hasrat Ali, her step-mother, and the step-grandfather, Rajjo Pehalwan alias Raju from Alhaipur village in Hathras district, were involved in the murder, they said.

On Tuesday morning, police arrested Hasrat and Rajjo near a canal in Salempur, and detained the stepmother from her parental home in Alhaipur.

According to police, Hasrat had divorced Tamanna's mother six years ago and remarried, following which she lived with her father and stepmother.

In July, she allegedly left home with a young man from Aligarh for a short time before returning. This allegedly enraged Hasrat and his second wife, leading to harassment and physical abuse, police said.

On August 8, Tamanna left her home quietly in the afternoon but was intercepted by her father and stepmother near the Panethi Bridge in Aligarh. Fearing social stigma, the two plotted to kill her and also involved the step-father.

Superintendent of Police Chiranjeev Nath Sinha said, "the girl was lured to her step-grandfather's house in Chandpa, where she was drugged, strangled, and then taken to the canal. There, the stepmother and step-grandfather held her while the father slit her throat with a knife." "They also dishevelled her clothing to mislead investigators about the nature of the crime," he said.

All three suspects were arrested within 48 hours, and the team that solved the case will receive a reward of Rs 25,000, Sinha added. PTI COR KIS OZ OZ