Minor girl strangled to death in Mumbai by relatives for not offering namaz

Mumbai: In a dreadful incident, a minor girl was strangulated to death allegedly by her relatives for not offering namaz during Friday prayers.

The incident took place in Mumbai’s Antop Hill area.

Three women, including a minor, have been arrested by the police in connection with the murder.

According to a report in NDTV, the girl’s father is not financially sound and due to her mother's early death she used to stay with relatives as he is away at work and there is no one to look after her.

At her relatives place, the victim had been asked to compulsorily offer namaz every Friday. However, after the girl disobeyed them again last Friday, her aunt strangled her with a dupatta in a fit of anger, police said.

In an attempt to cover up the crime, the relatives told the doctors that the girl died after slipping inside the bathroom. However, as the doctors at Sion hospital found some marks on the victim’s neck, they did not buy the claims of her family members and informed the local police.

Following an interrogation, the girl's aunts confessed, police said.

The father of the victim is in a state of shock after hearing the news and regrets leaving her in the care of her relatives.

"Why did they murder her? I am her father. If she was not offering namaz they could have complained to me. These people don't listen to any one," he told NDTV.