Karnal teens’ death appears to suicide pact: Cops
They said that as per the post-mortem, the bodies bore no visible injury marks, but maintained that probe is on. The boy’s family had, however, claimed that there were injury marks on his face and neck, and expressed suspicion about the role of the girl’s family, stating that the latter were opposed to the teenagers’ relationship.
Four days after the bodies of a 17-year-old boy and 16-year-old girl were recovered from the Western Yamuna Canal, police said it appears to be a suicide pact.
They said that as per the post-mortem, the bodies bore no visible injury marks, but maintained that probe is on. The boy’s family had, however, claimed that there were injury marks on his face and neck, and expressed suspicion about the role of the girl’s family, stating that the latter were opposed to the teenagers’ relationship.
A senior police official said, “There were no visible injury marks on the bodies of the two teenagers but their viscera samples have been sent to forensic lab in Madhuban to ascertain if the teens had been forcefully drowned.”
On the boy’s family’s claims about the injury marks on his face and neck, the cop said, “The body travelled around 2km in water and the bruises may have occurred post drowning. But we are awaiting the viscera report for final confirmation.”
He said the post-mortem was conducted by a medical board and its videography was carried out.
Karnal superintendent of police (SP) Shashank Kumar Sawan also maintained that probe is on and the exact cause of death will be established once the final report is in.
The teens lived in neighbouring villages but attended the same private school and were students of Class-12.
The girl, as per her family members, had left home around 8.30pm on September 13 and they suspected that she had eloped with her classmate.
On the other hand, the boy’s father alleged that the teenager had left home after he got a call around 9pm. The father further stated that around 11pm, the family got a call from someone, informing them that the teen’s motorcycle was parked near the canal. “When we went there, the girl’s family members were already present there and they told us that our son had jumped into the canal,” the father told mediapersons.
On the same day, police registered an FIR under Section 346 (wrongful confinement) of the Indian Penal Code, on the complaint of the girl’s father.
On September 15, police launched a search operation in the canal with the help of divers. By evening, the boy’s body was fished out from Shekhpura village of Karnal, while the girl’s body was traced near Uchani village in the district.
As soon as the boy’s body was recovered, his family demanded the arrest of the girl’s kin, stating they had murdered the teens. They alleged that the girl’s family were agitated over the their “daughter’s affair with a lower-caste boy” and thus had killed the two children.
They also staged a protest at Karnal and refused to cremate his body until the arrests were made. But after police assurance of a fair probe, they carried out the last rites. The girl’s family, however, kept a low profile and cremated her body.