A retired professor and father of a 22-year-old girl whose charred body was found by police on Monday has been booked on the charges of abetment to suicide on the basis of a recovered speed post, police said.
A charred body of a 22-year-old girl was found in Nawabganj area here on Monday. The deceased is the daughter of retired university professor Ajit Singh Rathi.
The girl, who was mentally-ill, had gone missing since Saturday last before her body was found on Monday. However, it was not clear whether the girl committed suicide or was set ablaze by someone, police said.
The police have recovered a speed post letter which was sent from Kanpur GPO to Rathi's address. The letter was received by the family yesterday, SSP K S Emmanual said today.
Prima facie, the hand-writing in the speed-post appears to be of the girl, Emmanual said, adding, according to the letter the girl seems to be disturbed over continuous harassment by her father and that this could be the reason behind the suicide.
"We are examining the hand-writing along with the fact whether the girl had posted this letter or someone else," he said.
According to the SSP, on the basis of this letter a case has been registered against Rathi under section 306 (abetment to suicide) of the IPC.
Rathi has not been arrested but interrogations are on. The police is also questioning the girl's family to ascertain the kind of relationship she shared with her father, he said.
Even though Rathi has been booked for abetment to suicide, the police is not yet sure whether this is a case of suicide or murder, the SSP said.
"It is confirmed from the post-mortem that the girl died of 100 per cent burn injuries. But when one commits suicide, there are no 100 per cent burn injuries. We are finding if this is a case of suicide or if she was set ablaze and her body dumped later. We are investigating the matter through forensic experts," Emmanual said.
The girl had been missing since Saturday and the police had found the charred body from outside a public toilet near Officer's Colony here.
Police suspect a foul play as the woman's parents did not file a missing complaint.
During interrogation, her parents said their daughter was undergoing medical treatment and had previously gone missing but always returned home, which is why they did not file a complaint, police said.
