A 23-year-old man allegedly strangled his live-in partner's teenage daughter for persuading her mother to back out of the relationship. The victim's body was stuffed into a suitcase and set on fire in a forested area of SBS Nagar in Punjab.
According to the police, the 16-year-old was reported missing on May 29. The complaint was filed by her 38-year-old mother, Usha. During the investigation, the police learnt that Usha, her daughter, and a man called Gurvinder were staying together at Jadli in Nawanshahr. Gurvinder worked as a labourer, while Usha worked at the municipal corporation on Rahon Road in the Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district after being separated from her husband.
In the course of the probe, the police focused on analysing all CCTV footage of the area. Gurvinder initially tried to mislead the police by showing them CCTV footage, claiming that the girl could be seen going on a motorbike with someone. When the police traced the bike, it was found that the person riding the motorcycle was actually the rider's mother.
Soon, Gurvinder himself was caught on camera taking a suitcase on his motorcycle, news agency PTI reported. When interrogated, he confessed to having killed the girl on May 29 when Usha was away at work. He was arrested on Friday, the news report added.
After strangling the teenager to death, he took the body to the forests of the Khulargarh Sahib area, situated about 30 kilometres away, and set it on fire. The police later recovered the charred body of the girl and lodged a murder case against Gurvinder.
