Aurangabad: In a grisly instance of “honour killing”, an 18-year-old youth, and his 40-year-old mother, were arrested in Maharashtra’s Aurangabad after he allegedly chopped off his pregnant sister’s head with a sickle, the duo clicked selfies with the corpse and shared them with friends, officials said on Monday.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon in Goygaon village in Vaijapur tehsil of Aurangabad, said a member of the investigating team, Police Patil (PP) Suryakant R. Mote.
Soon after committing the ghastly murder, accused Sanket S. Mote, 18, along with his mother Shobha S. Mote, 40, calmly went to the police station and gave themselves up, and even confessed to their crime, which has left the state shaken.
PP Mote said primary investigations point to a case of “honour killing” as the accused and his mother were enraged after his daughter Kishori, alias Kirti, 19, and her boyfriend Ajay S. Thore, both living in the same village, had eloped on June 21.
After getting married six months ago at Alandi, Pune, the young couple returned to the village a few days ago. The girl’s family was deadly against the relationship and the subsequent wedlock as Thore, who is a farmer, allegedly had a dubious reputation.
Upon learning of their return, the mother-son duo went to meet Kirti – who was around 3 months pregnant – at her husband’s home, spoke cordially and hinted at a rapprochement, following which Kirti went to the kitchen to prepare tea and snacks for them.
With a macabre plan in their mind, the mother-son followed her into the kitchen, where Shobha Mote grabbed her daughter’s legs and pinned her down, while son Sanket whipped out a sickle and beheaded her.
Later, the mother-son clicked selfies which they sent to friends and others, before throwing Kirti’s head outside the house.
From there, they went to the police station, surrendered themselves and admitted to the crime, said PP Mote, though it is not known if the victim was alone at home at that time.
In Goygaon, sometime later, horrified neighbours saw the woman’s head lying outside the home and the headless body lying inside in a pool of blood and alerted PP Mote and other officials.
PP Mote said, as per the probe, the victim’s husband and the complainant in the case, Thore, is said to be a history-sheeter with some cases lodged against him in Vaijapur Police Station, and he was allegedly harassing and assaulting his wife Kirti.
The police teams have seized the mobiles of the mother-son, retrieved the pictures and videos for further investigations, and the duo has been produced before a Vaijapur Magistrate Court for remand.
Meanwhile, Kirti’s autopsy was completed early on Monday and her funeral was performed this morning in the presence of her grieving father, Sanjay Mote, a few relatives from her husband’s side, and some neighbours, said PP Mote.