Mohammed Mahfooz shows his and Nazreen’s marriage certificate at their home in Khagaul. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

A 22-year-old woman died under mysterious circumstances at her house in Badi Khagaul area under Khagaul police station on Thursday night. Though police are yet to ascertain the cause of death, the woman’s husband and mother have already accused each other of murdering her in rage.

Nazreen Bano, a student of biotechnology in the College of Commerce, Patna, was found dead by the police around 11.40pm on April 19. The police team was surprised to find the body neatly placed over a slab of ice and her mother sitting in the same room. Nazreen had got married to her Mohammed Mahfooz alias Raja against her family’s wishes. The two knew each other for over eight years.

The cops went to Nazreen’s home after Raja, a resident of Chakardaha in the Badi Khagaul area, complained in the evening that he was not able to contact Nazreen. Raja said he feared something bad had happened to Nazreen. The police acted fast but by the time they reached the house, Nazreen was dead. Her mother told the police Raja had killed Nazreen when she was not at home.

The story, which has several loose ends, started on April 16 when Nazreen and Raja got married secretly at the district court.

“Things are very vague at present. The woman’s body has been sent for post-mortem. Nazreen and Raja got married on April 16. They called up their respective families, informing them about the same. Before this, Nazreen’s father Abdul Hakim, who is a cabin man with the railways, was admitted to Danapur Railway Hospital on April 14 with severe chest pain. The family had perhaps discovered their affair and the father had suffered a shock,” an officer with the Khagaul police station said.

Nazreen’s mother Shamima was initially very angry but later promised to organise a formal wedding for the two.

“Shamima requested Raja to send back Nazreen, following which he dropped his wife at the Danapur Railway Station on April 17 evening,” the police officer said.

Raja in his statements said Nazreen told him on April 18 that there was a problem in her family and she was feeling threatened. “On the evening of April 19, Raja called up police claiming Nazreen was in danger. We are trying to find out how he came to know about it,” another police officer said.

Shamima, on the other hand, told the police she was at the hospital till 3pm.

“Shamima said around 3pm, a neighbour called her on her mobile and said that her daughter was dead. Her statement is misleading. If she came back and found her daughter dead, why didn’t she inform the cops? The body was kept on ice slab which is again confusing,” the officer added.

Shamima remains the prime suspect, though Raja, too, is under the scanner, the officer added. Police sources suspect the girl might have been strangled but they are waiting for the post-mortem report to confirm the cause of death.