Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Police arrested a woman and her UPSC aspirant son for allegedly murdering her 25-year-old daughter in an honour killing under the Hira Nagar police station limits, an official said on Monday.
The accused allegedly assaulted the victim and forced her to consume poison in an attempt to portray the murder as a suicide.
The deceased, Jyoti Agrawal, was a resident of Bajrang Nagar and ran an online business. Her father, an asafoetida trader, was at his shop when the incident took place.
The incident occurred on April 2 when Jyoti attempted to meet her boyfriend, who belonged to another caste. Her family, who had long opposed the relationship, confronted her.
During the ensuing dispute, her brother, Prakash, a UPSC aspirant, allegedly assaulted her and smashed her head against a wall in the presence of their mother, Sheetal.
The family then allegedly forced her to consume poison before taking her to the hospital, where she died on April 4.
CCTV footage deleted, clean DVR raised suspicion
The accused initially claimed that Jyoti had died by suicide. However, the post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was a severe head injury behind her ear.
ACP (Hira Nagar) Rubina Mizwani said the family's version began to unravel during the crime scene inspection.
Investigators found that CCTV footage from the house covering the previous two days had been deliberately deleted.
The digital video recorder (DVR) was also found unusually clean and free of dust, suggesting it had been recently handled to destroy evidence.
Poison packet found intact after two days
Police also recovered an intact poison packet from Jyoti's room two days after the incident. Investigators said it was unusual for such evidence to remain undisturbed in a regularly cleaned household, strengthening their suspicion of foul play.
During questioning, the mother and brother allegedly claimed that Jyoti had injured herself by smashing a mirror before consuming poison.
Following the post-mortem findings and subsequent interrogation, police arrested both accused. Sheetal has been sent to judicial custody, while Prakash remains on police remand.
ACP Mizwani said the family's attempts to mislead investigators ultimately failed, and the alleged crime was uncovered through forensic evidence and investigation.
