Newlyweds waylaid, bride shot dead in UP
MEERUT: Criminals shot dead a newly married bride after looting her and her husband of cash and jewellery and took away their car near village Mataur on National Highway 58 on Friday night in yet another reminder that highway travel at night in western Uttar Pradesh remains dangerous.
Police said Shahzeb, a resident of Mimlana road of Muzaffarnagar and his bride Fahrana of Nahal village of Ghaziabad were returning home along with Shahzeb’s family members.
They had stopped for food at a roadside restaurant near Partapur on NH-58. When they resumed their journey around 11 pm, four criminals in a car with a fake number plate started chasing them and overtook their vehicle near village Mataur, barely a kilometre from Daurala police station.
Police sources said initial probe revealed that the bride and the groom’s families were economically weak and the bride was wearing artificial jewellery, which the criminals thought was made of real gold.
They held the victims at gun point and directed them to hand over cash and jewellery.
One of the goons approached Fahrana who was still sitting inside the car and asked her to hand over her jewellery. As the bride started screaming in fear, they fired in haste to silence her, said police.
The criminals than dragged the injured bride out of the car and drove away with the loot and the car.
Shahzeb and his family members then informed their relatives, who were travelling in two more cars through a different route, about the incident. They arrived on the spot and took Fahrana to the Muzaffarnagar medical college about 25km away where doctors declared her brought dead.
Police launched a manhunt for the criminals. Manzil Saini, SSP, Meerut, said the criminals’ car had been spotted in CCTV footage of the toll barrier on NH-58. “Four criminals were seen travelling in a car. They used a fake number plate,” she said.
MUZAFFARNAGAR: The loot and murder of a newly-wed woman on NH-58 on Friday cast a pall on the ‘Zinda Peer’ locality on Mimlana road here. The grief-stricken families of the couple reached the groom’s residence on Saturday morning.
Soon, the deceased bride’s family left for their native village in Ghaziabad with her body, and a crowd of neighbours and relatives gathered at the groom’s house.
Shocked by his new bride’s cold murder, Shahzeb said, “Why did they kill my innocent wife without any reason? I want justice and an early resolution of this case.”Shahzeb and his bride Fahrana of Nahal village of Ghaziabad were returning home along with Shahzeb’s kin on Friday night. They stopped for food at a roadside restaurant near Partapur on NH-58.
When they resumed their journey at around 11 pm, four criminals in a car with a fake number plate overtook their vehicle near village Mataur, barely a kilometre from Daurala police station.
Police said they held the victims at gun point and directed them to hand over cash and jewellery. One of the goons approached Fahrana who was still sitting inside the car and asked her to hand over her jewellery. As the bride screamed in fear, they fired in haste to silence her, said police.
Recalling the horror, Shahzeb said, “After overtaking our car, three people carrying pistols came out from the car, while the driver remained seated. Two men took my brother-in-law Salman and sister Bushra on gunpoint, while one pointed his pistol at my head. They snatched all our valuables, including my ‘sehra’. On seeing all this, Fahrana let out a scream. That’s when one of the criminals opened her window, snatched her jewellery and fired at her chest. Then they threw her and Salman’s 4-year-old son Hammad out of the car and fled with our Swift Dzire car.”
Speaking to HT, Salman said that the entire incident was over in five minutes after which the criminals escaped in the direction of Muzaffarnagar.
“Within 15 minutes of the incident,
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Two men took my brotherinlaw Salman and sister Bushra on gunpoint, while one pointed his pistol at my head. They snatched all our valuables, including my ‘sehra’. When Fahrana let out a scream, one of the criminals opened her window, snatched her jewellery and fired at her chest.
SHAZEB, groom
a police team had reached the spot. They immediately flashed a message to the district police to trace the escaping killers, however, the criminals could not be caught. We took Fahrana to the Muzaffarnagar medical college where the doctors declared her brought dead.”
Earlier, senior superintendent of police Anant Dev Tiwari had met the family members of the deceased bride. Her kin reached Muzaffarnagar on Saturday morning and after post-mortem examination, took away her mortal remains to their native village for last rites.