LUCKNOW: Eighteen persons were booked by Barabanki police on Thursday for the murder of a 24-year-old youth over an inter-faith love affair in the district. Eleven of them have been arrested.
Police said that victim Jamis was in a relationship with a 19-year-old girl from another faith. "But she had stopped seeing him when her family didn't approve of it and fixed her marriage. However, he forced her to meet him on Monday. The girl's family members thrashed him when they saw them together. Jamis jumped into a pond to save himself, but drowned," they say.
Barabanki SP Dinesh Singh said the girl’s brother is among those arrested. The accused have been booked under IPC sections 302 (murder), IPC 147 (rioting), and IPC 148 (rioting with deadly weapons).
“The motive is clear. The girl was to get married in April this year but Jamis was harassing her. The girl was not ready to meet the boy but he insisted on meeting her. The two were seen by the girl’s parents on Monday and the latter decided to confront Jamis. When Jamis was returning home on Tuesday evening, the girl’s parents and relatives intercepted him. The argument turned ugly when Jamis allegedly abused them. Within no time, the families of Jamis and the girl came face to face,” the SP said.
“The girl’s family overpowered Jamis and thrashed him. Jamis fell into a pond while fleeing and drowned,” Singh said.
