The main accused in the twin murder case of a Dalit girl and her father which shocked Meerut on June 27 was arrested on Thursday night after a brief encounter with the police.
The incident happened two days before the 19-year-old Aanchal was scheduled to get married. A video of the incident that went viral on Wednesday showed the assailants entering the residence of Raj Kumar in Transport Nagar area when a pre-wedding music function was going on and Aanchal was dancing. The accused, who was not visible in the video, allegedly first shot at her father and then fired at Aanchal.
Chakrapani Tripathi, Circle Officer, Brahmpuri, who investigated the case told The Hindu that the main accused Sagar Thakur was nabbed from the Kankar Khera area of Meerut. “He fired at the police party that stopped him during a routine check, as Section 144 is in place, on Thursday night. When we fired in self defence, a bullet hit his leg. Five co-accused, including the mother of Sagar, have already been arrested. One is on the run,” he said.
‘Victim stalked’
Mr Tripathi described it as a case of one-sided love. “The girl had spurned the advances of Sagar, her neighbour, but he continued to stalk her.”
The FIR filed by Aman, Aanchal’s brother said on the day of the function, Sagar and his friends allegedly abused the girl’s family and he and his mother tried to build pressure on the family to reconsider their decision and when they refused, he fired. Aanchal died on the spot while her father passed away during treatment.
