UP man kills cousin, sets her daughter on fire for forcing him to divorce wife

A man allegedly strangled his cousin and her daughter and then set their body on fire in a sugarcane field in Uttar Pradesh’s Bijnor district after she pressured him to live with her and divorce his wife, police said.

The incident came to light after the charred body of an unidentified woman was found in a sugarcane field with her three-year-old daughter found crying and injured nearby. Police identified the woman as Usha, wife of Anil Kumar, and arrested her cousin Neeraj in connection with the murder.

According to Bijnor SP Gautam Rai, after seeing the photograph of the victim on social media, her husband Anil Kumar approached the police and identified her as his wife Usha. He also identified the injured child as their daughter.

Following this, the police registered a case at police on the basis of Anil Kumar’s complaint and launched an investigation.

During the investigation, police found that Usha had met Neeraj, her uncle’s son, at a family function around six months ago. The two subsequently began talking and, according to police, entered into a relationship.

Police said the relationship strained Usha’s relationship with her husband. She subsequently left her husband’s home and began living in a rented house in Siau town in Chandpur.

During the investigation, Neeraj’s name emerged in connection with the case. Police took him into custody and questioned him.

According to police, Neeraj told investigators that Usha was pressuring him to live with her. She was also allegedly demanding that he divorce his wife, police said.

Police said Neeraj became distressed by the pressure and hatched a plan to kill Usha.

According to police, Neeraj took Usha and her children to Haridwar and Rishikesh on the night of September 19 on the pretext of taking them out for a trip. He then stayed at a hotel in Noorpur on the night of September 20.

On the night of September 22, at around 10:15 pm, Neeraj took Usha, her three-year-old daughter and her approximately one-and-a-half-year-old son Priyanshu in his pickup vehicle to an area near Alampur Ehdwa village.

Police said that Neeraj strangled Usha and her three-year-old daughter inside the vehicle. When the younger child stopped crying, Neeraj allegedly assumed that he had also died.

He then placed Usha and the girl in the sugarcane field, covered them with a blanket and set them on fire to prevent their identification, police said.

However, the three-year-old girl was not completely engulfed by the fire and survived. Neeraj left the spot with Usha’s approximately one-and-a-half-year-old son, Priyanshu.

According to police, after reaching home, Neeraj told his family a false story that he had found the child. He then handed Priyanshu over to his family.

Police said Neeraj told investigators that he did not kill the boy because he did not have a son and wanted the family to raise the child as his own son.

On the morning of September 23, the discovery of the woman’s charred body and the injured girl in the sugarcane field triggered panic in the area.

Police reached the spot after receiving information, took the body into custody and sent it for post-mortem examination. The injured girl was admitted to a medical college for treatment, where she continues to receive medical care.

After establishing the identity of the victim, police arrested Neeraj during the investigation.

Police have also recovered the pickup vehicle used in the crime, the woman’s mobile phone and the younger child’s milk bottle.