Five arrested in connection with honour killing case in Odisha

Five persons including the father and brother of a minor girl were arrested today in connection with the alleged honour killing of the girl and her lover in Odisha's Koraput district last month, police said.

"The minor girl and her 20-year-old lover were murdered and their bodies thrown near railway tracks on June 20 by the father-son duo and three of their relatives," said Koraput Superintendent of Police, Kanwar Vishal Singh.

While two of the arrested persons were identified as father and brother of the deceased girl respectively, the other three are their relatives, police said.

The bodies of couple, who belonged to Mundipadar village, were spotted near the railway track near Kusumi station and a case was registered, they said.

The bodies were thrown on the railway track apparently in a bid to give it a suicide angle, police said.

During the course of investigation it was found that the two were in love for the past one year but their families were against it, the SP said.

Facing stiff resistance from their family members, the two eloped from their village on the evening of June 20. However, they were caught by the girls father and the young couple were murdered, he said.

Police said on being interrogated, the father of the deceased girl "confessed" to the crime saying that his family was opposed to his daughters love-affair with the youth.

"Prima facie, it appears to be an honour killing case. The family members of the girl were opposed to the couples relationship," the SP said.