When love turns fatal: Maharashtra SRPF cop murdered by minor daughter’s 23-year-old boyfriend in Nagpur

A personnel of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) was reportedly murdered by his daughter's boyfriend and several accomplices in Nagpur district of Maharashtra. Five people have been arrested in connection with the gruesome crime, authorities said on Friday.

The victim was identified as 42-year-old Assistant Sub-Inspector Pankaj Thakur. The deadly assault took place in the Matoshree Nagar locality, falling within the MIDC police station's limits.

His 30-year-old brother-in-law, Arpit, also sustained severe physical trauma during the confrontation, according to an official police statement.

Investigators have identified the primary suspect as 23-year-old Akash Haridas Mandal, who had been involved in a relationship with Thakur’s 16-year-old daughter for approximately two years.

Thakur had consistently voiced his disapproval of the pairing and had issued multiple warnings to Mandal to cease contact with the underage girl. During a local Hanuman Jayanti celebration at a neighbourhood temple on Thursday evening, Mandal allegedly approached the teenager to engage her in conversation. Upon witnessing this, Thakur intervened and demanded the young man depart, sparking a volatile verbal dispute.

Following this intense altercation, the suspect briefly retreated to his residence before returning armed with a knife and accompanied by a group of kin and associates.

Five people — including the primary accused Mandal, his brother Harshad, and their mother — have now been taken into custody for their suspected roles in the incident, with a comprehensive investigation currently ongoing to uncover further details.

Prosecutor Francois Schneider stated that the young girl informed detectives she had premeditated the murders, noting that her boyfriend had "consented to participate" in the plan. According to the prosecution, the boy had surreptitiously entered the residence over the weekend, sparking a confrontation with the grandmother when she found him in the girl's bedroom on Monday morning.

The girl admitted to investigators that she then began stabbing her 71-year-old grandmother. When the 74-year-old grandfather heard the screams and intervened, the boyfriend attacked him with a knife, officials reported. The pair inflicted six stab wounds on the grandmother and five on the grandfather, Schneider detailed. Law enforcement discovered the remains in the home's cellar on Tuesday morning.

The teenagers were apprehended that afternoon at a nearby commercial site after purchasing three premium mobile phones using thousands of euros discovered in a container within the grandparents' quarters, Schneider said. The girl claimed to police that her grandmother had struck her during a dispute over the forbidden relationship, the prosecutor noted. The girl potentially faces 30 years of incarceration if not sentenced as a juvenile, while the boy faces up to 20 years.