A 46-year-old cab driver from Kharar was allegedly kidnapped and murdered by his 17-year-old daughter and her associate for opposing their marriage, police said on Tuesday. The duo allegedly dumped the victim’s body in a canal. Both accused have been arrested, and search operations are on to recover the body.
Though the victim was allegedly killed on the night of May 1, his wife, who had gone to her brother’s house, discovered he was missing only the following day. Initially, she tried to search for him on her own, but later learned from her younger children that her eldest daughter may have been involved.
The children told her that the 17-year-old had left with their father at night after complaining of a stomach ache. The father had not returned home since then.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the teenager was in a relationship with a 21-year-old man, Vikas Shah, which the family opposed. This had reportedly led to frequent arguments at home. In her complaint to the police, the victim’s wife also stated that her eldest daughter had earlier threatened to harm the family.
According to investigators, the girl allegedly took her father out of the house saying she was suffering from severe stomach pain and needed to visit a hospital. Upon reaching the hospital, she called her associate, and the duo persuaded the victim to accompany them in a car. They drove to an isolated stretch near the Morinda canal, where Shah allegedly slit the victim’s throat with a sharp blade before throwing the body into the canal.
While Shah was arrested and produced in court on Tuesday, the girl has been sent to juvenile care.
Kharar station house officer (SHO) Amrinder Singh said search operations have been intensified in the canal and adjoining areas to trace the body.
A case has been registered under Sections 140(1) (kidnapping or abducting a person with intent to murder), 3(5) (common intention), 103(1) (murder), and 238 (destroying evidence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
