Vadodara: A 50-year-old man in Metpur village of Anand district allegedly strangled his 21-year-old daughter on Diwali night over her intercaste relationship and tried to pass off the killing as suicide, police said.An FIR was registered by Khambhat Town police against Kaushal Patel for the murder of his daughter Saniya. He was arrested on Monday and produced in court on Tuesday, where police sought his custody for further questioning. The court rejected the application and sent him to judicial custody.Kaushal allegedly strangled Saniya around 3.15am on Monday, hours after the family celebrated the festival together. Police said she had refused to end her year-long relationship with a village youth from a different caste.Investigators said Kaushal objected to the relationship because of the caste difference and he felt the youth’s monthly income of Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 was meagre. He repeatedly told Saniya to end it, but she stayed in touch with the youth on the phone.The family spent Diwali evening together and retired to their rooms late at night. Around 3.15am, with the others, including the accused’s elderly parents, asleep, Kaushal allegedly approached Saniya in the kitchen and confronted her about the relationship.He told her he could strangle her. Saniya initially took the remark as a joke, police said. Kaushal grabbed her dupatta and used it as a ligature, keeping up the pressure until she crumpled onto the floor.Kaushal and others in the family allegedly tried to dress up the killing as suicide. The family claimed Saniya had died by suicide and took her body to Khambhat General Hospital around 5am on Monday.Doctors found the circumstances suspicious and recommended a forensic postmortem, for which the body was sent to Shree Krishna Hospital in Karamsad. The examination established death by ligature strangulation, caused by compression of the neck. Police began investigating and questioned family members.During his questioning, Kaushal allegedly broke down and confessed. Investigators recovered the dupatta allegedly used in the crime and other evidence, police said.“There was discord between them over her relationship with a man from the village,” said inspector P J Bantva of Khambhat Town police station. Saniya had completed her BCom from Vadodara and was pursuing further studies, police said.
