Woman Killed By Family Over Love Affair, Body Burnt To Destroy Evidence

A 22-year-old medical student was strangled to death and set ablaze allegedly by her father, brother and three other male relatives over her love affair in Maharashtra's Nanded district, an official said.

The police on Friday arrested the five for the killing that took place on January 22 in Pimpri Mahipal village under Limbgaon police station, around 600 km from Mumbai, an official said.

The woman was strangled to death with a rope by her family members, who later set her ablaze and threw her remains in a stream to destroy the evidence, he said.

The victim was a third year student of Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and her marriage had been fixed. However, she informed the man chosen by her family that she was in love with another man from her village, the official said.

The victim's family had been upset after the wedding was called off, he said.

The woman's father, brother, uncle and cousins took her to a farm on the night of January 22, and they allegedly killed her and tried to destroy the evidence, the official said.

The accused have been arrested under section 302 (murder) and other relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code, he added.