Meerut: A Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC) constable was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly conspiring with his brother in the murder of a 20-year-old Dalit woman here, police said.
Ankit, 31, is the latest arrest in connection with the killing of Lalita Gautam.
His brother, Ankush Kumar, was arrested earlier for allegedly murdering Gautam during an argument.
According to the police, on May 16, Gautam's father went to the TP Nagar Police Station and reported his daughter as missing.
The next day, Gautam was found dead in a forest area near Upsiya village.
An FIR of murder was registered against Ankush Kumar on the father's complaint.
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On May 18, the police arrested him on the basis of his sighting in a CCTV camera and other evidence.
The police also said that though her father alleged that Gautam's body had been disfigured with some chemical, the post-mortem did not bear out the claim.
During the investigation, police found that Ankit, who was on leave from the PAC at the time of the incident, was present at the crime scene and had allegedly helped his brother conceal evidence and conspired in the murder.
According to the police, Ankit had taken leave from May 11, claiming his wife was pregnant and expected to deliver on May 15. Witnesses and people from his village, however, contradicted his claim.
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On May 11, Ankit came to his village, the same day Gautam wrote a letter apprehending danger to her life.
Investigators found that Ankit was miffed over an earlier dispute involving Gautam and his brother.
The Kalyanpur village native was booked under sections relating to murder, destruction of evidence, and criminal conspiracy, along with provisions of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
(Disclaimer: This report has been published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. Apart from the headline, no editing has been done in the copy by ABP Live.)