Zirakpur, March 16 – Four days after a 23-year-old woman from Zirakpur was found dead in a rivulet near Banur, police arrested the prime accused and his two accomplices from the Uttar Pradesh-Bihar border on Friday.
The trio—Sultan Mohammad, Amandeep, and Raj—had been on the run since the body’s discovery on Monday. Another suspect, Rohit, was arrested earlier on Tuesday, leading to the recovery of a Hyundai i20 car (HP09-B-0467) allegedly used in the crime. Police said all four accused are aged between 20 and 25.
The victim, a resident of Badal Colony, Zirakpur, worked for a private firm in Panchkula’s IT Park. She had gone missing on March 7, prompting her family to file a missing person report. Three days later, her body was found wrapped in tarpaulin and dumped in a rivulet.
According to investigators, Sultan Mohammad had been in a relationship with the victim for over three years and wanted to marry her. “He picked her up on March 7 with the help of his accomplices, planning to elope. Later, he found messages from another man on her phone, which enraged him. In a fit of anger, he strangled her and, with the help of his friends, disposed of her body,” a police officer said.
Following the arrests, the victim’s family, who had refused to cremate her until all accused were caught, held the last rites on Saturday in the presence of Dera Bassi MLA Kuljit Singh Randhawa.
The victim’s father alleged in his complaint that Sultan Mohammad had been harassing his daughter for months and kidnapped her with the help of his accomplices. However, police denied any communal angle in the case.
All four accused have been booked under Sections 140(1) (kidnapping), 103 (murder), and 3(5) (act done by several persons) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Zirakpur police station.
