Murdered Delhi scribe’s mother arrested, family under suspicion (Roundup)

RANCHI/NEW DELHI - The mother of Nirupama Pathak, a Delhi journalist, was arrested Monday for allegedly being linked to her murder in what is being suspected to be an “honour killing” over her relationship with a man from another caste.

In Delhi, Pathak’s friends met National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Girija Vyas and sought harsh punishment for her killers.

“We have arrested Sudha Devi and are interrogating the journalist’s father and brother. The arrest has been made on circumstantial evidence,” Koderma’s Superintendent of Police (Koderma) G. Kranti Kumar told IANS. Pathak’s family home is in Koderma, around 200 km from Ranchi.

“We are interrogating the family who are suspects in the murder. We will arrest other people also if we get evidence,” Kranti Kumar said.

“They are frequently changing their statements. First, her mother said she died due to electrocution. Later the family members produced a suicide note and said she killed herself by hanging from the ceiling fan. The post-mortem says she was murdered by smothering. It also revealed that she was 10-12 weeks pregnant,” the official said.

Vyas said the NCW had “sought a detailed report from the Koderma district police about the death of the girl.”

Pathak, 23, worked for Business Standard in New Delhi. She had come home in Koderma district April 19 and was due to return April 28, but her reservation was cancelled. She was was found dead April 29.

Passing out of the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), New Delhi last year, she was having an affair with her former batchmate - a relationship her parents reportedly did not approve of.

“The investigation is continuing in the right direction, but the whole process will take longer time. I am determined to take the fight to its logical conclusion and get justice for her,” Priyabhanshu Ranjan, whom Pathak wanted to marry, told IANS.

“She called me on April 28 to say that her train ticket was cancelled and that she was kept under constant watch. But then on April 29 she sent me a message saying she will try to come to Delhi,” said Ranjan, a journalist in the capital.

Ranjan and Pathak’s friends are also planning to form a group to monitor the developments in the case.

“It was suspected from day one that she was killed by her parents as she was planning to marry her IIMC batchmate who was from a different caste. We want stringent action against those behind the killing,” said Ranveer Singh, another batchmate.