JOIN US “My daughter was being tortured by Priyabhanshu for reasons which were not known to us. We suspect his hand in the incident, which forced Nirupama to end her life. So, we pray that there should be fair trial and this man (Priyabhanshu) be interrogated. We are hopeful that the truth will prevail and accordingly justice would be rendered to us,” said Pathak talking to media persons at Koderma.
Pathak’s reaction came a day after his wife Sudha Pathak was arrested by Koderma police. Nirupama was found dead at her residence on April 29 under mysterious circumstances. The post-mortem report revealed that the girl died of strangulation and not electrocution as claimed by the family members, triggering speculation that she may have been a victim of “honour killing.”
“My mother is in a state of shock after this incident and as a result the police got conflicting statements,” said Nirupama’s brother, Samrendra Pathak. According to police, Sudha Pathak first claimed that Nirupama was electrocuted but later a suicide note was handed over to show that she committed suicide.
The police also questioned the victim’s brother Samrendra and her father Dharmendra Pathak. “We are investigating on both the murder and suicide angles in the case,’’ said Koderma DySP Chandrashekhar Prasad.
When contacted, Priyabhanshu Ranjan, a Delhi-based journalist, said it’s clearly a murder case and that he was ready to face the police interrogation.
“Yes, I am ready to co-operate with the police. As Koderma is a familiar place for me, I would like to be interrogated at Delhi itself. All that her family members are saying is nothing but a bundle of lies. She had left for her home on April 19 and had a return ticket dated April 28. But her ticket was cancelled and she was kept under strict vigil. On the fateful day, I received a message from her saying that she would soon leave for Delhi. But I got to know about her death later,” Priyabhanshu told Deccan Herald over the phone from New Delhi.
He admitted to have had a physical relationship with Nirupama. “Both of us met for the first time on June 29, 2008, during an interview and began interacting frequently. Of late, we also developed physical relationship but I was not aware that she was in the early stages of pregnancy,” said Priyabhanshu.
Meanwhile, a team of forensic experts visited Nirupama’s residence on Tuesday afternoon and lifted finger prints and other samples.