Outraged by affair, parents kill teenager, dump body in Ganga
A married couple was arrested on Saturday for allegedly killing their 16-year-old daughter and dumping her body in the river Ganga in Malda district of West Bengal, the police said. The couple, who lives in Mahendratola village in Malda's Bhootni, allegedly killed their daughter in a suspected case of honor killing on Friday as they were against her relationship with a boy.
Teen strangled to death over affair with lower caste boy
Locals told Hindustan Times, that the girl, Pratima Mondal, continued to meet the boy, Achinta Mondal (17), against her parents' wishes. On Friday, the parents, Dhiren Mondal (45) and Sumati Mondal (40), allegedly strangled Pratima to death. "The accused indicated Achinta belonged to a lower caste though he shared the same surname," a police officer said, adding 'honor killing' may be the motive.
Parents took boat from local ghat to dump body
Further, a police officer said the duo wrapped the body in a gunny bag with stones and dropped it in Ganga. The officer said, "On Friday evening, they took a small boat from a local ghat without informing its owner. When the owner of the boat started looking for it, he came to know Dhiren and Sumati had boarded it with a gunny bag."
Parents confessed when questioned by boat owner, locals
After they dumped the body, the boat's owner and some locals questioned the duo and also noticed that their daughter was missing, HT reported. The couple gave in to the pressure and confessed their crime to the locals, who tipped-off the police.
Case registered; Parents claim daughter killed herself
The couple was arrested from their house around midnight on Friday. A suo motu case under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of offense) and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), has been registered, officer-in-charge Bhootni police station, Abhisekh Talukdar, said. Meanwhile, DSP Bipul Majumder told The Times of India the couple confessed to dumping the body but claimed their daughter had committed suicide.
Search operation with divers launched; no body found
The police have launched a search operation with divers to recover the girl's body from the river, however, till Saturday afternoon, they had not traced the body. Meanwhile, the couple will be produced before a court on Sunday.
