The body of a 19-year-old woman who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend after she became pregnant was found on Saturday in a forest area on the outskirts of Lucknow, officials said.
The police have arrested the accused on Saturday, who was later injured in an alleged encounter while attempting to flee from police custody, they said.
The woman, a resident of Sandana in Sitapur district, had left her home on May 25 to attend college in Kuchlai village, but when she did not return, a kidnapping case was registered at Sandana police station.
During the probe, police gathered evidence and questioned Vishal Pal, a resident of Saraiya village in Sitapur district.
According to investigators, Pal and the woman were in a relationship and she had become pregnant. The accused allegedly killed her following a dispute related to marriage and pregnancy.
Acting on information provided by Pal, a police team reached a forested area and recovered clothes allegedly worn by the woman, a slipper, bones and hair.
Officials said family members present at the spot identified the recovered clothes and other remains as belonging to the woman. Police said the body had decomposed completely as it had allegedly been dumped in the forest near the ring road after the murder.
Local police and senior officers reached the scene and a forensic team collected evidence. The remains have been sent for postmortem, while DNA profiling and other forensic tests will be conducted if required, they said.
Sitapur Additional Superintendent of Police Durgesh Singh said Pal was arrested in connection with the case and during interrogation, he allegedly confessed to the crime.
The officer said that on Saturday, while a Sandana police team was taking the accused to recover evidence linked to the crime, he sought permission to attend nature's call and allegedly attempted to escape by snatching a pistol and firing at the police team.
Police retaliated and the accused sustained a bullet injury in his leg, Singh said. He was later admitted to a hospital.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
