INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
LUCKNOW: A 55-year-old man and his wife were brutally beaten to death with iron rods and sticks allegedly by their neighbours in Sitapur's
Hargaon, 90km north of Lucknow, on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday as a consequence of an interfaith affair and repeat
elopements involving their daughter and the couple's son, police said Sunday.Police have arrested the girl's brother Shailendra Jaiswal,
her brother-in-law Pallu Jaiswal, and a close family friend Amarnath Kumar, while her parents Rampal (48) and Ramapati (42) are on the run
Charges of rioting, murder, and assault have been registered against the five people based on an FIR filed by the deceased couple's
daughter Yasmeen.The background to this horrific crime traces back to a rivalry between the two families that ignited when Shaukat, the
28-year-old son of Mohammed Abbas and 53-year-old Kamrul Nissa, eloped with the girl from a different community within the same locality in
2020.A complicated legal entanglement ensued as the girl was not 18 - the legal minimum age at which a woman can marry in India
Shaukat faced accusations of kidnapping, rape, and violations of the Pocso Act
After spending 13 months in jail, he was released on bail in April.However, the situation escalated as the couple eloped again, prompting
the girl's parents to file a case
In a pivotal development, the girl testified in court that she had willingly chosen to leave with her partner
Consequently, Shaukat was acquitted.Tensions reached a breaking point when the girl's parents arranged her marriage to someone else on May
In a third elopement, the girl fled with Shaukat once more on August 14 and that ultimately led to the tragic events.The girl's family
allegedly visited Shaukat's parents in their residence late Friday night and perpetrated the fatal attack
Police received information about the gruesome crime the following day and discovered the bodies of Abbas and Nissa, said Hargaon SHO BP
Subsequently, Yasmeen filed a police complaint, naming the five suspects.Authorities have extended protection to the interfaith couple
following the murder and relocated them to an undisclosed place.WatchShocking: Couple beaten to death in UP's Sitapur over son's
