LUCKNOW: A 22-year-old BTech student was arrested after a police encounter in Sitapur for allegedly strangling and stabbing his three-month pregnant girlfriend, a BSc student, following a dispute over marriage, police said on Saturday.
The accused, Vishal Pal, was injured in the leg after he allegedly snatched a police pistol and opened fire while attempting to escape custody. He has been admitted to hospital and remains under guard.
The victim, Mansi (20), a first-year BSc student from Sandana in Sitapur, had been missing since May 25 after leaving for college. Her family had accused Vishal, with whom she had been in a relationship for four years, of abducting her and staged protests demanding swift action.
Police said the couple had been in a relationship for the past four years, during which Mansi became pregnant. They said Vishal was unwilling to marry and allegedly pressured her to terminate the pregnancy, while she insisted on continuing it and formalising the relationship. Officials said the disagreement escalated, allegedly leading to the murder.
Vishal was initially arrested on June 4. During interrogation on June 5, he allegedly confessed to the crime and disclosed the location where he had dumped the body.
Acting on his disclosure, a police team took him to Mahipatpur in BKT, Lucknow, where skeletal remains believed to be of the victim were recovered from a forested area. Police also recovered hair, clothes, slippers and a knife, with traces of blood found near a boundary wall. The remains have been sent for forensic examination and DNA profiling to establish identity.
Police said Vishal had allegedly lured Mansi to Lucknow on the pretext of meeting her, taken her to an isolated location and strangled her before repeatedly stabbing her to ensure death. He then allegedly dumped the body to destroy evidence.
On Saturday afternoon, while being taken again for further recovery of evidence, Vishal allegedly asked to relieve himself near Rampur Madhia village. Police said that while he was being escorted, he snatched a service weapon and attempted to flee, firing at the team. Police retaliated in self-defence, shooting him in the leg and overpowering him.
Additional SP (South) Durgesh Singh said, “The accused tried to escape after snatching a pistol and opened fire. He was injured in retaliatory action and is now in custody.”
Police said the body was recovered nearly 10 days after the victim went missing, indicating an attempt to conceal the crime.
Further investigation is underway to gather forensic evidence and reconstruct the sequence of events.
Father alleges delay in police action, says protest forced probeMahesh, father of the missing girl, has alleged police inaction in the initial days after his daughter went missing on May 25. He said he approached the local police station with a named complaint against the girl’s boyfriend, whom he suspected of taking her away, but no FIR was registered at the time.
According to him, an FIR was filed only on May 28, but he remained dissatisfied with both its contents and the pace of the investigation. “I met the Circle Officer and Superintendent of Police multiple times, but no concrete action followed,” he said.
Frustrated, Mahesh began a sit-in protest, saying authorities responded only after public pressure mounted. He claimed police swung into action on June 2, the third day of the protest, when officials assured him his daughter would be traced within a few days. He later withdrew the protest, though villagers continued the agitation.
Boyfriend’s confession to policeDuring police interrogation, Vishal allegedly confessed to the crime and said: “I was in a relationship with the girl, and she was three months pregnant. On May 25, I took her on my motorcycle from Sidhauli to Lucknow. I then took her to a secluded spot near Kisan Path in the Bakshi Ka Talab area. There, we got into an argument over marriage and living together. In a fit of anger, I strangled her to death. To conceal her identity and destroy evidence, I placed a cement pillar on her neck and then fled from the spot.”
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