Man killed for eloping with minor, later marrying her

Rajkot: Seething with anger at a Bhachau man for eloping with his sister when she was minor and marrying her when she turned adult — against the wishes of the family — a man and his friend allegedly killed him with an SUV. Bhachau police cracked the case within hours, arresting the two men.At 8.15pm on Wednesday evening, Vinod alias Jigar Koli was walking beside a road in the Himmatpura Kuluwadi area when the accused rammed him with an SUV. The collision caused severe injuries that killed Vinod, prompting Bhachau police to register a case of murder. Investigators arrested Mehul Koli, 22, and Harshad Prajapati, 19. Both work as drivers and live in Bhachau. Police found the motive for the murder was resentment over the relationship between the Mehul's sister, Shilpa, and Vinod. Vinod had fallen in love with Shilpa and the two first eloped in 2022, when Shilpa was still a minor. A kidnapping case was thus filed against Vinod. When Shilpa reached adulthood in 2023, the two got legally married. "Mehul felt the relationship had dishonoured his family and was deeply resentful about it," a police officer said.This hostility led to clashes between Mehul and Vinod, including an incident a year earlier, when they intentionally rammed their motorcycles into each other. Intent on revenge, Mehul allegedly enlisted Harshad's help to kill Vinod. Police registered a case against the duo under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 103(1) and 54 at Bhachau police station and began the investigation.