Couple Killed By Woman's Family, Bodies Found In Crocodile-Infested River

An 18-year-old woman and her 21-year-old lover were shot dead, their bodies tied to heavy stones and thrown into a crocodile-infested river, in a suspected case of dishonour killing in Madhya Pradesh, the police said today.

Shivani Tomar and Radheshyam Tomar were allegedly killed by her family at Ratanbasai village in Morena district. The family was strongly against Shivani's relationship with Radheshyam, who was from a neighbouring village, Balupura, the police said.

The killings were revealed after Radheshyam's father filed a complaint with the police alleging that his son and the woman had been missing for several days and that he suspected they were murdered. Initially, the police suspected both had run away. However, no one in the village had seen the two leaving.

Later, the police interrogated the woman's father and relatives. After hours of questioning, they admitted to the crime, the police claimed.

The woman's family reportedly told the police that Shivani and Radheshyam were shot dead on June 3 and their bodies were tied to heavy stones and thrown into the Chambal river.

"We interrogated the family members of the woman during which they confessed to the crime. The woman's family told us that murdered the couple and threw their bodies into Chambal river. We took the help of rescue teams to retrieve the bodies," said a police officer.

The Chambal Gharial sanctuary has more than 2,000 gharial (alligator) and 500 freshwater crocodiles.