Koraput: Police on Tuesday arrested five persons for their alleged involvement in the honour killing of a minor girl and her 20-year-old lover in the district in June.

While two of the arrested persons are identified as Meta Muduli (father) and Pitabas Muduli (brother) of the deceased girl, the other three are their relatives, said the police.

The police on June 21 said the bodies of Parsuram Muduli, 20, and Bhanumati Muduli, 15, were found near Kusumi railway station in Kotpad police limits.

Based on the complaint of the concerned railway station master, a case of unnatural death was registered with Government Railway Police (GRP) station in Koraput.

The deceased duo belongs to Mundipadar village in Kotpad police limits.

The GRP registered the case and conducted inquiry into the incident as it had happened in its jurisdiction, the state police intervened after the father of the deceased girl approached Koraput police superintendent Kanwar Vishal Singh on July 10 and suspected foul play in the incident.

"Based on the written complaint of Muduli, a case was registered and investigation was initiated," Singh said.

Singh said that during course of investigation it was found that Parsurama and Bhanumati had been in love for the past one year, but their respective families were against it.

On the evening of June 20, the duo eloped from their village and their families and relatives started a manhunt for them.

"Meta spotted the lovebirds on a road leading to Kusumi railway station. The girl's father, along with his son and three other relatives, beat them to death. After committing the crime, the group of five took the bodies - by putting them inside separate gunny bags - to Chilliguda railway tracks near Kusumi railway station and threw it there. Also, they tried to destroy the evidence," he said.

The police said the arrested persons lead them to the spot of crime and place of concealment of lathis and sharp weapons, gunny bags and bicycles, which were used in the killing of the two.

The police said that on being interrogated the father of the deceased girl confessed to an "honour killing", saying that his family was opposed to his daughter's behaviour.

"Father of the deceased girl had come to mislead the police, but only for him the case was solved. Had he not come to the grievance cell, the case wouldn't have been detected," Singh said.