Kin refuse to claim ashes of girl found in suitcase in Bathinda

The family of a 20-year-old girl from Bagha Purana in Moga district, whose partially burnt body was found stuffed in a suitcase near Behman Diwana village along the Bathinda-Malout highway on February 11, has refused to claim her ashes.

The cremation was performed by a local non-governmental organisation (NGO) on February 13.

The deceased was later identified as Sapna, alias Mallika. Her boyfriend, Prince Kumar, an alleged drug addict and a resident of Gulabgarh village here, currently living in the Surkhpeer area, was arrested for the murder on February 12.

Vijay Goyal, president of the Sahara Jan Sewa, Bathinda, said, “We transported the body to the hospital, performed the cremation and later collected the ashes. Only two members of her family came, but they gave Rs 5,000 for the cremation and left, saying the ashes be immersed. Now, we will immerse the ashes in Haridwar along with those of other unclaimed bodies in a month or so. The relatives seemed annoyed with the girl’s alleged activities.”

According to the police, the deceased was married and her husband is in jail. “The victim was married, but perhaps she had not informed her family. She was living in a live-in relationship with someone else. The deceased and the accused had been friends for some time and were active on social media. Some personal differences or suspicion may have triggered the crime. The investigation indicates it was a crime of passion,” said Bathinda SSP Jyoti Yadav.

She said, “The accused first stabbed her to death and then attempted to burn the body inside a suitcase to destroy evidence. Fearing detection, he kept the body at his house for two days before placing it in a new suitcase and dumping it near Behman Diwana on the night of February 10.”

“After the murder, the accused even got a tattoo of both of them on his chest, possibly to seek sympathy. One suitcase was found fully burnt, while a new suitcase was used to transport the body. A car and the knife used in the crime have been recovered,” said the SSP.

The police are also investigating whether the girl was a drug addict.