Lucknow: The police have arrested a man for allegedly strangling his daughters to death in Lucknow on Monday. Along with him, his accomplice was also taken in custody. The accused allegedly disfigured her face with acid and threw her body near a canal, the police said.

Sharing further details, the police said that suspicion regarding the deceased’s activities and fear of social stigma led to the murder. The police arrested Vijay Kumar Chaube (34), from Lucknow, and his associate Abdul Mannan (45) after an investigation following a missing person complaint filed by Chaube. The accused had reported his missing daughter on April 16.

How did the incident unfolded?

“During the inquiry, inconsistencies in his statements raised suspicion. He failed to provide satisfactory answers during questioning,” DCP (East) Deeksha Singh told reporters as per news agency PTI. The police, meanwhile, had also received information regarding the finding of a girl’s body in the neighbouring Barabanki district.

“Based on phone records, local inputs and other evidence, the father was questioned again. He then confessed that he had taken his daughter from home on April 14 on the pretext of seeking treatment through occult practices and, along with his associate, killed her,” Singh said.

The accused waited till late at night to commit the crime

According to the police, Chaube had hired a car and left with his daughter on April 13, After picking up Mannan on the way, they spent the night on the way, and waited until late hours to murder the child.

“They stopped at a secluded stretch and strangled the girl inside the vehicle. To conceal her identity, they poured acid on her face and dumped the body near the Sharda canal,” the officer added further. According to the police, the accused claimed that he was disturbed by the girl’s behaviour and activities, and also “feared damage to their social standing”, which led to the murder.