Los Angeles: (IANS) Religion could
have played a role in the brutal death of two members of an Indian
American family last week, according to court papers.
Jayprakash Dhanak, 56, and his 20-year-old daughter Karishma's badly
burned bodies were found last week in a park near the University of
California, Irvine. A few hours earlier, Dhanak's wife, Leela, 53, was
found severely beaten outside the family's Anaheim Hills home, which had
been set ablaze.
It has emerged that Dhanak, who was a Hindu, disapproved of his daughter
dating Iftekhar Murtaza, 22, a Muslim, the Los Angeles Times reported.
When police arrested Murtaza last Friday at Phoenix airport they found
in his possession a one-way air ticket to Bangladesh.
Murtaza had dated the Dhanak's younger daughter, Shayona, an 18-year-old
college student, for about three years, a source close to the
investigation, but who was not authorised to speak publicly, told the
paper. Shayona had moved out of the Anaheim Hills home and was unharmed.
According to court papers, the young couple had broken up due to family
pressure a few weeks before the murders.
Investigators have found records indicating that Murtaza had made calls
from his cellphone less than two miles from the crime scene about an
hour before the murders, but had told police he was not in Anaheim that
day, court records said.
Police investigating the case are still not clear about the exact motive
of the attack.
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