Parents of Delhi journalist arrested

The parents of Nirupama Pathak, who was murdered by her family members on Thursday, were taken into custody for interrogation today, a senior police official said.

"We have taken the parents of Pathak, who was attached with a reputed English business daily from New Delhi, for interrogation in connection with her murder", Koderma police superintendent Kranti Singh said.

He, however, refused to comment whether it was a "honour killing" saying investigation was still on.

The police, he said, was also searching for other family members and friends, who suspectedly played a role in the killing.

The mysterious death of the journalist turned out to be a case of murder in the post-mortem report released yesterday. The report confirmed the death due to "asphyxia as a result of smothering".

Stating that the family members of the victim had misled the police by first claiming she died of eletrocution, the SP said though the incident had taken place at Tilaya in the morning hours, the police were informed by the evening. 

The report also confirmed that a ligature mark was formed around her neck as she was strangulated with a rope after she died.