Karnal woman, paramour held for ‘killing’ daughter

Tribune News Service

Karnal, January 31

The police on Thursday claimed to have solved a murder case of 11-year-old Sonam, who was found dead in a gunny bag in Western Yamuna Canal on Tuesday evening. The police have arrested her mother Luxmi and Luxmi’s paramour Amit Kumar, both residents of Sadar Bazar here, on the charge of killing the girl to hide their extra-marital relationship.

“Within 36 hours of the recovery of the body, the police have arrested the accused,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Surinder Singh Bhoria told the media.

Luxmi and her husband have been living separately for the past seven to eight years. Sonam used to live with her parents on a rotational basis.

“When Sonam learnt about her mother’s extra-marital relationship with Amit, she threatened to tell her father and grandmother. So, the two hatched a conspiracy and strangled her to death on January 10. The body was put in a gunny bag and dumped in the canal,” the SP said.

As part of the plan, Luxmi filed a police complaint on January 16, a day after Sonam’s school reopened, and blamed her husband for Sonam’s disappearance. Sonam’s father counter-blamed Luxmi. The police registered a missing person complaint.

On January 29, when the water receded in the canal, a passerby noticed a body and informed the police, the SP said, adding Luxmi identified the body first.

“I talked to Sonam’s father and mother in the City police station. After suspecting Luxmi’s role in the murder, the police took her in custody. She spilled the beans during interrogation,” Bhoria said.

“Amit also confessed to killing Sonam. He told the police Sonam was an obstacle to his relationship with Luxmi,” he said.

The post-mortem examination revealed Sonam was strangled, the SP said, adding the police would try to take the two accused in their custody as the motorcycle and the pillow used in the crime were to be recovered.