The Daighar couple was slaughtered by the woman’s cousin who says his reputation was ruined after she eloped with her lover to have an inter-faith marriage
Accused Shafiq Mansuri was upset by his cousin’s inter-faith marriage
The Thane police on Monday solved the Daighar double murder case. The couple — including a nine-month pregnant woman — were hacked to death by a cousin of the woman who was upset about her opting for an inter-faith marriage, claimed police. Identified as Shafiq Shamsuddin Mansuri (28) a resident of Paliya in Uttar Pradesh’s Hardoe district, the accused was picked up from his hometown on Sunday and arrested on Monday.
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Honour killing
According to the police, the deceased — Vijay Shankar Yadav (30) and his wife Sufiya Abrar Mansuri, aka Priya Yadav (22) — were both from UP and had moved to Daighar after eloping to Mumbai on April 9 last year, to get married.
“The arrested accused is Sufiya’s cousin and Vijay’s friend. It was during his trips to meet Shafiq that Vijay’s relationship with Sufiya evolved. However, Shafiq was blamed for their elopement and was also accused of helping them, so he decided to exact revenge,” said Ashitosh Dhumbre, Joint Commissioner of Police, Thane.
Zeroing in
After the decomposed bodies were found on September 15, the Thane crime branch started the probe. “We interrogated all their neighbours and with the help of one, we got a lead. It appears that on September 12, Vishwakarma, the neighbour’s wife had visited Sufiya who introduced her to her cousin. She also mentioned that he did embroidery and was going to help her financially with her pregnancy. Based on that information, we reached Uttar Pradesh and found him hiding in his room,” said Nitin Thakre, senior police inspector, Thane Crime Branch.
Planned 'qurbani'
During his interrogation, Shafiq accepted his crime and claimed that he had been planning the murder for the last year as his reputation in his village was ruined. The cops also believe that he planned to commit the murders as his ‘sacrifice’ for Bakra Eid. “On the fated day, he reached the residence at 4 pm and insisted that Sufiya call Vijay home. At 9 pm, the duo bought three beers and made merry. When they were asleep though, Shafiq used the knife he had acquired earlier in the day and slit Vijay’s throat. When his cousin woke up, he went ahead and stabbed her in the stomach, saying, “Tu hamare liye tab hi mar gayi thi jab tune isse shaadi ki. Ye bacha humein nai chahiye. (You died for us the day you married him. We don’t want this child of yours)”. After clearing his traces, he boarded a train to Kalyan and switched off his phone, restarting it only near Nashik,” said a police officer from the Thane crime branch.
“We doubt the family’s involvement as there was no reaction from them even after they came to know about her death. They claimed that they considered her dead when she eloped with Vijay,” said an officer from Thane police.
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