A 22-year-old woman was allegedly killed by her boyfriend over marriage pressure and repeated demands for money in Varanasi earlier this week, police said.
The body of the victim, Alka Bind, was found with her throat slit, and wrapped in a blanket inside a room at Vidhan Basera Dhaba in Rupapur, in Mirzamurad area on Thursday. The development came hours after the Master of Science (MSc) student was reported missing, after she left for college on Wednesday morning.
The accused, Sahab Bind, was arrested from his sister’s house in Bhadohi on Thursday. “He snatched a gun from one of the policemen and tried to fire at the team but was shot in his leg. He is from Mirzapur. He is undergoing treatment,” Varanasi Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Akash Patel said.
According to the DCP, Alka left her house to attend college at around 9.30 am on Wednesday but did not return home till late evening, prompting her family to file a missing complaint. Her body was found inside the dhaba’s room later that night.
The woman’s call records and CCTV footage led police to zero down on her boyfriend, Sahab Bind, who was traced and subsequently arrested from his sister’s house in Bhadohi.
“During the course of interrogation, Sahab Bind said he killed Alka as he was fed up with her repeated demands for marriage and money,” Mr Patel said.
“The accused said he met the woman at a wedding in 2024 following which the two gradually started seeing each other. The relationship, however, took a difficult turn after Alka reportedly began pressuring Sahab Bind for money regularly,” he added.
Police said that on Wednesday, Sahab Bind called and met Alka at the room linked to the dhaba and slit her throat. He then fled with the woman’s mobile phone and admit card.
The body was discovered by a dhaba employee when he entered the room for cleaning, the police added.
The body has been sent for post-mortem. The victim’s family staged a protest on Thursday, against alleged police inaction in the matter.
Opposition leader and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also demanded a thorough probe into the incident. “A sad incident. There should be an investigation and justice should be delivered,” he posted in Hindi on X.