Father and Associate Arrested in Suspected Honour Killing of Teenage Girl in Barabanki
In a shocking incident in Uttar Pradesh, a 16-year-old girl was allegedly strangled by her own father with the assistance of an associate in what police suspect to be a brutal honour killing. The body was discovered dumped on the roadside in Barabanki, leading to the arrest of the two accused from Gonda on Monday.
Details of the Tragic Incident
The accused have been identified as Vijay Kumar Chaubey, 34, a resident of Chinhat in Lucknow, and his aide Abdul Mannan, 45. According to police officials, Chaubey was vehemently opposed to his daughter's relationship with an older man. The teenage girl had previously eloped with this man in 2025 but was traced and brought back home. However, she continued to maintain contact with him, which reportedly infuriated her father.
"Prima facie, it appears to be a case of honour killing," stated DCP East Deeksha Sharma, highlighting the preliminary assessment of the investigation.
Chilling Execution and Attempted Disfigurement
On April 13, the two accused took the girl in a hired car under the pretext of performing a religious ritual. The following day, near Baddupur in Barabanki, they allegedly strangled her inside the vehicle. In a gruesome attempt to conceal her identity, they tried to disfigure her face using a toilet cleaner, but this did not cause significant damage, as per police reports.
Subsequently, they dumped the body near the Sharda Canal on Kursi Road. The Barabanki police recovered the body on April 15, but it remained unidentified and was later cremated as an unknown person.
Deceptive Tactics and Police Investigation
In an effort to deflect suspicion, the father filed a missing person complaint on April 16, blaming the girl's male friend for her disappearance. However, when police questioned the male friend, he played a recorded call from the girl in which she explicitly stated that she was leaving with her father for a ritual. Local residents corroborated this, confirming they had last seen the girl departing with her father.
Police revisited Chaubey's house but found him missing. "Local inquiry revealed he had taken the girl with him. His phone was also switched off, which further strengthened suspicion," explained an official involved in the case.
Arrest and Apprehension
Utilizing surveillance techniques, police traced Chaubey to his in-laws' house in Gonda, where he was arrested on Monday. His associate, Abdul Mannan, was subsequently apprehended in connection with the crime. The investigation is ongoing as authorities delve deeper into the motives and circumstances surrounding this tragic event.
