Uttar Pradesh: Kidnapped for marriage, BSc student burnt alive by youth

LUCKNOW: The 21-year-old missing BSc student whose unrecognizable, badly-burnt body was found on Saturday evening from Harchandpur in Rae Bareli, three kilometres away from her college and identified on Sunday, had been kidnapped for forced marriage and set ablaze for resisting, alleged her father in his complaint to police on Monday.
The family members and relatives staged a protest by keeping her corpse on main road in Bachhrawan.The girl, a resident of Bachhrawan, had gone to college on Saturday, but her body was recovered from thickets in Harchandpur area of Lucknow-Allahabad highway.
The girl’s father has accused one Atul Gupta (25), saying he had proposed to his daughter few days ago while she was returning from college. “Despite my daughter’s clear refusal, Atul misbehaved with her on many occasions, after which we took up the matter with his family, but 15 days ago he threatened her with dire consequences if she didn’t marry him,” he alleged.
Acting on the complaint, Rae Bareli police lodged an FIR against Atul Gupta on charges of murder, concealing evidence, criminal intimidation, and causing hurt. SP, Rae Bareli, Swapnil Mamgain told TOI, “Atul, a distant relative of the girl, has been nabbed but is denying charges. He runs a cloth store in Shivratanganj, Amethi. We have detained four other persons also and are questioning them.”
“The post-mortem report of victim rules out rape and mentions burns as the cause of death. We will recreate the crime scene to ascertain the sequence of events since kidnapping a 21-year-old and setting her afire cannot be done by one man,” Mamgain said.
A source privy to probe, however, said the victim had told a friend to carry her bag home and tell her parents that she had been kidnapped, but they did not report it to police and complained a day later.