Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday quashed the suicide abetment case against Priyabhanshu Ranjan, saying that his journalist girlfriend Nirupama Pathak was murdered three years ago.

The Koderma-born and Delhi-based scribe had been found hanging at her native home on April 29, 2010. Family members of the 22-year-old had claimed suicide and even furnished a suicide note that accused Ranjan.

The youth surrendered last year and was arrested on charges of abetment.

Arguing on his behalf on Tuesday, defence counsel S.K. Murari said Nirupama’s post-mortem report confirmed death due to strangulation. It also indicated that her larynx bone was broken before she was hung from a ceiling fan at her Koderma home.

“The doctor said the mark of rope on her neck was formed after she died,” Murari contended.

The counsel further argued that police during their course of investigation had found that Ranjan and Nirupama were not estranged lovers and the former was also not present at the place of occurrence.

Murari pointed out that the victim’s mother, Sudha Pathak, had frequently changed her statements. First, she had said her daughter was electrocuted and later had claimed she hanged herself.

Convinced with the arguments, the court of Justice R.R. Prasad quashed criminal proceedings against Ranjan.