Jharkhand interfaith couple found dead on railway tracks

Jamtara, Oct 27 : The bodies of a young interfaith couple were recovered from a railway track near the local railway water tank in Jharkhand’s Jamtara district on Saturday morning.

The deceased have been identified as 20-year-old Rocky Kumar Mandal and 18-year-old Nazia Khatoon, both residents of Ringochingo village under the jurisdiction of the Karmatand police station.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

According to Karmatand police station in-charge Alakh Nath Chaubey, the couple had been in a relationship for several years and had left their respective homes on Friday evening to visit a local fair.

Later that night, the two reportedly visited a temple together. Prior to the incident, a video purportedly posted on Instagram and attributed to Rocky surfaced online, showing the couple with one hand each tied together using a blue cloth.

The social media post was accompanied by a poignant message urging villagers not to sever their bond and requesting that whatever final rites are performed, they be buried or laid to rest together.

Inspector Chaubey stated that while there is no record of a legal marriage, social media photographs suggest the youth may have applied vermilion to the woman’s forehead.

Local sources revealed that the relationship had faced strong opposition from both families due to their differing religious backgrounds.

About two years ago, community members held a joint meeting after discovering the affair and initially proposed marriage, but both families rejected the idea. Villagers subsequently advised the families to keep the pair apart, and the woman was married to another man the following year.

Police have registered a case of unnatural death in connection with the incident. The post-mortem examinations of both bodies have been completed, and the remains have been handed over to their respective families as further probing continues.