In a bizarre incident, a couple was shot dead inside a Sai temple premises in Ghaziabad on Monday morning. After initial investigation, the police have ruled out any possibility of honour killing.
The deceased have been identified as Annu Chauhan, (26), a resident of Uttarakhand and Preeti, (32), a resident of Delhi. Annu owned a glass shop in Vijay Nagar while Preeti was employed with a private school.
Multiple relationships
Superintendent of Police (City) Shlok Kumar said that during the investigation, it appears that the deceased Annu was in touch with three other women and the murder could be a fallout of his multiple relationships.
“We have questioned the family members of Preeti and even recorded their statement regarding their location at the time of murder. Her family members have approved their relationship and they wanted the couple to settle down as soon as possible. Annu had revealed his relationship with Preeti to his father around four days ago,” said Mr. Kumar.
Police officers said that at 8.30 a.m., they received a PCR call informing that two persons were shot at inside Sai temple premises.A police team rushed to the spot and found that a couple was shot dead by some unidentified person. The bodies were sent for post-mortem, they added.
Fired several times
An eyewitness said that the couple came to the temple on a two-wheeler and when they came out, an unidentified person started firing mercilessly at them. The attacker fired multiple times at them from a close range. “We were inside the temple and rushed out after hearing gunshot sound. We saw a man running out of the temple premises,” said the eyewitness.
Ruling out the possibility of honour killing, a police officer said, “The couple had been dating for the last six months and the woman’s family wanted them to settle down. But Annu was delaying it due to some personal reason. The couple could have been murdered by a jilted lover, possibly one of the women who was in touch with Annu.”
Mr. Kumar said that a murder case has been registered at Kotwali police station.
