Lucknow, May 20: In a shocking incident, a 20-year-old woman was allegedly killed and buried in the village by family members. The woman was killed for not ending her friendship with a local youth despite repeated warnings by family members, the police said on Sunday. The incident took place at a village in Uttar Pradesh's Sant Kabir Nagar district. Four members of the deceased's family and the village head were arrested in connection with the murder.

The matter came to fore on May 14 when a person from a neighbouring village spotted a partially-hidden piece of cloth in a bush in the field. He informed the police who found the body of a woman in the field. The police went to the victim’s village with a photograph of the body. Villagers identified the woman. "A few locals told us that she had committed suicide after consuming poisonous substance. However, the postmortem report said otherwise," an investigating officer (IO) was quoted by The Indian Express as saying.

The autopsy report concluded that the woman died of an injury inflicted on her head with a blunt object. During interrogation, the victim's mother told cops that the family objected to her daughter’s friendship with a local youth. On May 11, she was again speaking to the same youth on her mobile phone. Angry, the mother hit the woman on the head with a stick, rendering her unconscious," the IO was quoted as saying further. Uttar Pradesh Horror: Woman, Sold by Father And Gangraped, Sets Herself Ablaze Alleging Police Apathy.

When the woman regained consciousness, she kept vomiting. The informed the village head and told him that she had consumed some poisonous substance, following which she was regularly vomiting. She died at night. Her minor brother and the village head carried the body on a motorcycle to the neighbouring village, while her mother, uncle and elder brother also reached the spot to bury it,” said the officer.

The police have arrested the woman’s mother (48), two brothers (27 and 17), uncle and the village head. They have been sent to judicial custody.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 20, 2019 11:22 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).