UP woman burnt alive by family for having inter-faith love affair

In a shocking incident reported from Uttar Pradesh, a woman has been burnt alive by her family members for having an inter-faith love affair, it is suspected to be a case of honour killing, police said on Monday.

The victim’s father, brother, brother-in-law and another person have been taken into custody in connection to the case, police added.

As maintained by police, the family had hired a contract killer, identified as Varun Tiwari, and paid him Rs 1.5 lakh to murder the woman over her love affair with a muslim man.

"The victim's father Kailash Yadav, brother Ajit Yadav, brother-in-law Satyaprakash Yadav and one Sitaram Yadav were arrested on Sunday. A petrol container and motorcycle used in the crime have also been recovered by the police. A hunt is on to trace the contract killer," a police official said.

Addressing the media on Sunday, Superintendent of Police of Sant Kabir Nagar, Kaustubh noted, "A half-burnt body of a young woman was found at village Jigina under Dhanghata police station limit on February 4. With the help of local police, surveillance, CCTV footage, field unit and dog squad, the body was identified as that of Ranjana Yadav of Belghat area in Gorakhpur."

"The victim's father told the police that his daughter was having an affair with a Muslim man. He said when she was not ready to leave her lover, he along with his son and son-in-law hired a contract killer from Mahuli to kill her," he said.

As per the police, one of the accused took the victim to an isolated area in Jigina village on a bike on 3rd February. The other accused then joined them and tied the victim's hands and mouth.

The accused then set her ablaze by pouring petrol on her, and then ran away from the crime spot, police added.

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