Man strangled to death in suspected honour killing; 3 bros held

Baghpat: In a suspected honour killing case, a 22-year-old man was allegedly beaten and strangled to death when he went to meet his girlfriend late Sunday night in Uttar Pradesh’s Baghpat district.The victim, Shahzan Khan, was a resident of the Ketipura locality who supported his family by running a roadside chaat stall on Baraut Road.Shahzan had attended a wedding on Sunday night and was last seen around 11:30 pm after dropping his aunt and cousin home on his motorcycle. His tied-up body, wrapped in cloth, was discovered on Monday afternoon dumped in a vacant plot near a madrassa in Ekta Colony.The breakthrough in the investigation came after CCTV footage surfaced on social media, purportedly showing two men transporting a wrapped body on a makeshift motorcycle cart.Baghpat SP Suraj Rai confirmed that three brothers—identified as Shahrukh, Farmaan and Irman—have been taken into custody. “During questioning, the accused confessed that Shahjan had come to meet their niece late at night. The brothers assaulted him and subsequently strangled him with a rope before disposing of his body to conceal the crime,” said SP Rai.Police added that the niece was also beaten by her uncles when she attempted to resist the assault on Shahjan.A case has been registered against the three accused under BNS sections 103(1) (murder) and 352/351(2) (criminal intimidation). Police are investigating if more individuals were involved in the crime.Shahjan is survived by his ailing father and a younger brother. Family members stated that he was the primary breadwinner of the household, and his sudden death has left the family completely devastated.