The case was lodged with Jhumari Tillaiya police station under Sections 376 (rape), 306 (abetment of suicide), 420 (cheating) and 506 (intimidation) against Ranjan following the order of chief judicial magistrate on the basis of a plea from Nirupam a’s mother Sudha Pathak.
Nirupama Pathak (23), a Delhi-based journalist working with a business daily, was found dead at her residence in Koderma district on April 29 under mysterious circumstances. A postmortem report concluded that Nirupama was in her early stage of pregnancy and was smothered to death.
In her petition, the victim’s mother had said that Priyabhanshu Ranjan, a Delhi-based journalist, with nefarious designs, ensnared her daughter, promising to marry her. He exploited her sexually and later ditched her, forcing her to commit suicide.Victim’s mother was the first person to be arrested by Koderma police on May 2. The police, however, are probing both murder and suicide angles.
The forensic department collected the sample of Nirupama’s handwriting to verify the authenticity of suicide note given to the police by the victim’s family members, who first claimed she was electrocuted but later said she committed suicide.
