Cops shift woman's body for autopsy from crematorium, arrest

Neha Choudhari would have gone into civic records as an 18-year-old who died of a natural cause but for an anonymous phone call that made the police rush to a crematorium here and pick up her body from a pyre for postmortem, which revealed that she was allegedly killed by her parents apparently over a love affair.

Malegaon police Thursday arrested three persons, including the parents and a cousin of the deceased collegian on suspicion that they strangled her at her house in Sangmeshwar locality in the city early Wednesday, a senior police official said.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajit Hagwane said had an anonymous caller not called up and alerted the police in nick of time, Neha's death would have passed as a natural one.

"Neha was taken to at least two hospitals in the city on the night of October 2 by her parents who told doctors that their daughter was sick. She died in the wee hours of October 3. Her father and other relatives then took the body for cremation Wednesday morning," Hagwane said explaining the sequence of events.

The officer said a police team rushed to the spot after receiving a phone call and shifted the body which was placed on a funeral pyre, to the Malegaon civil hospital for autopsy.

"We received the postmortem report Thursday morning, which indicated suffocation as the cause of her death. On suspicion of murder, we arrested Neha's father Sharad Choudhari, mother Sunita and cousin Nilesh Choudhari. A case of murder was registered against them at Chhavani police station," the DySP said.

When asked about the reason behind the alleged killing, the officer said the police suspected that Neha was having an affair with a youth from her area, but her parents were strongly against the alliance.

Further investigation is underway, the officer said, adding that a case of murder has been registered.