The teenager’s family allegedly killed the couple for marrying against their wishes after police traced them to Agra following their elopement and handed them back to their families
An 18-year-old woman and her husband were killed and their bodies were thrown into a crocodile-infested river in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena for marrying against the wishes of the teenager’s family after police traced them to Agra following their elopement and handed them back to their families.
Police superintendent (Morena) Shailendra Chauhan said that a State Disaster Response Force team was scouring the Chambal River for the bodies of Shivani Tomar and her husband, Radheshyam Tomar, 21. He said the woman’s father, Rajpal Tomar, and six other family members have confessed to the murders and that they were trying to arrest more accused.
Radhey Shyam Tomar father, Lakhan Singh, accused the police of inaction and blamed it for the murders and the delay in the investigation. Singh said that they filed a missing complaint on June 4 and suspected Rajpal Tomar and his family had killed the couple because they threatened them with consequences. “Police did not act for two weeks and treated it as a case of elopement. After we put pressure, the police started the probe in this direction and detained Rajpal.”
The couple eloped on May 6 and got married. A purported video the couple sent to their families showed them telling them that they were married and happy while requesting them not to trouble them.
The police traced the couple to Agra on May 11 and handed them over to their families. “The couple told police that they were adults and can take their own decisions. But police did not listen to them,” said Singh.