Chargesheet names teen’s parents, brother as her murder accused

New Delhi: Three months after Delhi Police stopped a 19-year-old woman’s burial midway over suspicions of foul play behind her death, cops have filed a chargesheet alleging she was murdered by her family members over her relationship with a distant relative and that they attempted to pass off the killing as a natural death before trying to bury her.The chargesheet, filed before Tis Hazari court, names her father, mother and brother as accused.On April 1, police received a call alleging that the woman, Noor, had been murdered and her in-laws were burying her body in west Delhi’s Hari Nagar. Cops rushed to the burial ground and took away the body for post-mortem. A murder investigation was started after the autopsy confirmed that Noor died due to smothering.According to the chargesheet, her father, Mohammad Maneer, mother Rabiya Khatun and brother, Meraj Ali, have been charged under Sections 103(1) (murder), 238(a) (causing disappearance of evidence of an offence or giving false information to screen an offender) and 3(5) (common intention) of BNS.

While Rabiya held Noor’s legs, Maneer pinned down her hands while Meraj smothered her with a pillow, the chargesheet says.Police sources said the chargesheet adds that Noor was killed after she refused to end her relationship with a distant relative from her native village despite sustained opposition from her family. Her kin attempted to portray her death as the result of kidney failure and jaundice and proceeded with the burial to conceal their crime.

The chargesheet lists 40 witnesses, including 13 public witnesses, whose statements form a key part of the prosecution’s case. Among the 40 are neighbours and other locals who described the events leading up to the attempted burial, as well as police personnel, forensic experts and medical witnesses associated with the investigation.Police have also ruled out the involvement of Noor’s sister, who was initially under the scanner.

After verifying her whereabouts and examining the evidence, officers concluded she was not present at the time of the incident.TOI visited the locality after the incident and was told by the neighbours that Noor had been locked up inside a room for nearly five days before her death. She desperately wanted a phone to call up police, they claimed. She was allegedly denied food, prompting some neighbours to pass on meals to her through a small opening in the mesh door of the room she was confined to.