Zia-ur-Rehman, 19 was beaten to death by a mob in Islam Nagar village in Uttar Pradesh’s Saharanpur. Hours later, the Zia murder case accused’s wife, Tanu Saini, 19, killed herself allegedly out of shock after police took away her husband following Zia’s death.
The houses of Zia and Tanu are separated by 400 meters. Two young lives were lost in the space of 10 hours.
Though both Muslim and Hindu sides filed FIRs against each other, the police are yet to make any arrests, according to Indian Express.
Zia’s father Mohammed Ayub, a grocery store owner in the village, had named four people of Tanu’s family in the FIR filed at Rampur Maniharan police station: “Her father Janeshwar (52), his elder brother Maneshwar (55), and two cousins, Priyanshu (22) and Shivam Saini (20),” SP (City) Abhimanyu Manglik said to the newspaper.
The 19-year-old Zia’s body had deep wounds on the stomach, legs, and both hands, according to his family members.
Tanu’s brother said to IE that the assaulters thought Zia was a thief. “He was spotted entering our house on CCTV by around six students, who were studying in a library adjacent to our house. It was they who barged into our house and beat him up, thinking he was a thief. We, in fact, saved him and informed the police,” he said.
Tanu’s family who are farmers said she was found hanging at around 11 am on Wednesday. Her mother Sunesh Devi claims the 19-year-old killed herself out of shock after police took away her husband following Zia’s death.
“She went to her room saying she was going to change her clothes, and minutes later, her elder sister found her hanging with a dupatta from the ceiling. The women constables brought her body down,” Devi added.
Meanwhile, some men from both sides said Zaia and Tanu knew each other despite both families claiming Zia and Tanu did not know each other.
Zia’s family friend Mohammed Imran said to IE that he does not believe Tanu’s death was due to suicide. He claims she knew Zia. Purushottam Maurya, Tanu’s neighbor, also said Zia and Tanu knew each other. “No one can get into the house without the gate being opened from inside,” Maurya claimed.
