Jilted woman strangles lover’s minor brother

Smitten by love, a jilted lover and mother of two children turned a killer, strangulating the minor brother of her boyfriend to prevent the latter’s marriage with another girl, in Kadwa village of Katihar, 330km from here.

The incident took place on Wednesday, three days before her boyfriend’s marriage. The police arrested the accused on Thursday and sent her to jail.

Poonam Devi, 30, the accused and mother of two sons aged five and seven, had an estranged relationship with her husband. Living with her mother at Chandpur West Tola in Kadwa police station area, she reportedly fell in love with a boy eight years younger, police said.

Devi reportedly developed a relationship with an unemployed Pradeep, 22, son of Birbal Choudhury. The boy’s family, which did not approve of the relationship, in order to prevent Pradeep from getting into a reltationship with the woman, fixed his marriage with another girl.

In order to prevent the marriage, to be solemnised on April 29, the jilted lover waylaid her boyfriend’s five-year old brother, Sunil alias Tuntun, to the adjoining maize fields on Wednesday and strangled him to death, said the police.

Though she succeeded in stalling the marriage, Devi landed in jail for her nefarious act. “We have arrested the accused and sent the body for post-mortem examination. Though the report is awaited, we found ligature mark around the neck of the boy,” said Ajit Kumar, station house officer of the Kadwa police station.