Spurned lover kills gay partner

Accused tied knot with married woman at temple

Angry over being ignored, a woman village pradhan allegedly shot dead her gay partner in Lucknow on Tuesday.

The culprit, Sonam Singh (name changed), was arrested by the police after she was surrounded by alert neighbours, who reached the spot after hearing the gunshot.Police sources here said Sonam, chief of a village panchayat in Gonda district, about 200 kilometres from here, was in love with Deepti Singh and was a frequent visitor to her house in the state capital. Deepti was married with children. Her husband was a Samajwadi Party leader.

On Tuesday, Sonam came to Deepti’s house and created a ruckus. She later called her nephew also. Sonam allegedly shot Deepti dead following a heated argument, the police said.

During interrogation, Sonam admitted to having been in love with Deepti. She claimed they had married at a temple and she considered Deepti as her wife and took care of her.

“Things went well initially. But there was a change in Deepti’s behaviour off late,” Sonam told police. Deepti had said that she was no more interested in continuing the relationship.

The sudden change in Deepti’s behaviour did not go well with Sonam. Police said Deepti’s husband had also suspected that the two had an intimate relationship and had asked his wife not to meet Sonam.

Sonam said Deepti humiliated her when she reached her home on Tuesday. The pradhan then shot her dead in a rage.

A case has been registered against Sonam. The police have also seized the murder weapon. However, her nephew managed to escape and a search has been launched to nab him, police said.