Jharkhand police to question scribe's fianci, friends

New Delhi, May 6 (ANI): A team of Jharkhand Police has arrived here to question journalist Nirupama Pathak's fianci Priyabhanshu Ranjan on Thursday.

On April 29, Pathak was found dead in mysterious circumstances at her house in Jharkhand's Tilaya area in Koderma District.

She was working for the Business Standard daily in Delhi.

Police suspect Pathak's death is a case of honour killing.

According to Koderma Superintendent of Police, G Kranthi Kumar, they have sent three separate teams to Mumbai, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh to interrogate Pathak's friends.

The police has said team would also search Pathak's room in Delhi and to interrogate her roommate.

Kumar informed that investigating teams were collecting evidence before questioning other family members of Pathak.

The police were also waiting for the report of the forensic department, which had collected some documents, including a 'suicide note' from her house in Tilaya.

She was stated to be planning to marry Ranjan, who was her classmate at Delhi's prestigious Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC).

Reportedly, Pathak's family did not approve of the proposal because Ranjan belongs to the Kayastha caste.

The post-mortem report revealed that Pathak died due to asphyxia as a result of smothering and there was a ligature mark around her neck pointing to strangulation with a rope.

Suspecting that it could be a case of honour killing, the police have arrested Pathak's mother Subha, who is now in judicial custody. (ANI)