New Delhi, February 14 The family members of the man found dead with his girlfriend inside a parked car in Noida on Saturday alleged that the couple may have been murdered, claiming they faced threats based on caste, while police said the case appeared to be a suicide on the surface.
The couple allegedly received taunts from the woman's family, and the man's family had received threats, including calls from international numbers warning of police action, they said.
The bodies of Sumit, 32, a resident of Trilokpuri in Delhi, and Rekha, 26, of Sector 101 in Noida, were found with gunshot wounds inside a locked car near Sector 107 earlier in the day. A pistol was recovered from his hand, police said.
"We believe that both have been murdered and were victims of caste-based discrimination," a cousin of Sumit alleged. The couple had been in a relationship for over a decade, and their families were aware of it, he said.
"Sumit is my younger brother. He and the girl had been together for 12-15 years, and she attended our family functions. There was never any pressure from our side," the relative told news agency PTI.
Alleging that the couple may have been murdered, he added that the location where the car was found was only a few hundred metres from the woman's village in Salarpur and described the circumstances as "suspicious".
Police, however, said a pistol was recovered from Sumit's hand, and the car was locked from the inside, suggesting a possible suicide. Senior officers and forensic teams have inspected the scene, and a post-mortem examination is pending, they added.
Officials said all angles, including the family's allegations, are being examined as part of the investigation. Further investigation is underway, they said.
