Meerut (UP), Jun 6 (PTI) A 17-year-old girl’s decapitated body, wrapped in a sheet, was recovered from a canal here, police said on Friday, adding that five people, including the victim’s mother and her younger brother, have been apprehended.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Meerut, Dr. Vipin Tada, said, “The body was recovered on Thursday. We formed six police teams to probe the matter. The teams collected evidence through forensic and surveillance techniques. The deceased was identified as Aastha alias Tanishka (17), a resident of Dadri village under Daurala police station.” Addressing the media on Friday, Tada revealed that Aastha had befriended a young man through social media eight months ago, which subsequently led to an illicit relationship.

Upon discovering this, Aastha’s mother, Rakesh Devi, and her younger brother allegedly strangled her to death on June 4, the officer said.

“Following the murder, they decapitated the body, wrapped it in a sheet, and threw it into a canal with the help of some relatives, while the head was disposed of in a separate location,” said the officer.

Apart from the victim’s mother and her brother, police have also arrested Monu, Kamal Singh and Samar Singh for helping the accused in disposing of the body.

The search is on for another accused, Gaurav, a resident of Ladpura in Hapur district.

Police recovered a sickle, believed to be the murder weapon, and a white car used to dispose of the body from the crime scene.

Police sent the arrested accused to judicial custody on Friday. PTI COR CDN HIG HIG