Koderma, Jharkhand: Was this 23-year old Delhi journalist murdered by her own family, because she dared to fall in love outside the caste?
When the body of Nirupama Pathak was discovered at her home in Jharkhand's Koderma distirct on the April 30 her family said the girl committed suicide, by hanging from a fan because of work pressure. A suicide note was also found.
But now, a post mortem on the girl's body reveals an entirely different picture.
"The post mortem report indicates the girl was smothered with a pillow. The girl was also found to be 8 to 12 weeks pregnant," said G Kranti Kumar, SP, Koderma.
For the last few years, Nirupama was in a relationship with a journalist in Delhi.
"She was to return to Delhi, but her ticket was cancelled. She called me on April 28 and said you would need to forget me as I won't be able to come, they won't let me come," said Nirupama's boyfriend.
The police haven't made any arrests yet, but have instructed the girl's family not to leave the district. Nirupama's father works in a national bank in Uttar Pradesh, and says only Nirupama's mother was present in the house when she died. Nirupama also had two brothers, both of whom work outside Jharkhand.