They were in love and had been together for more than four months. But a few days ago, Shahjahanpur resident Feroz Ahmed (19) shot Gunjha Sharma (18) in the head and then killed himself with the gun, according to a report in the Times of India.
Both were reportedly under intense pressure from their respective families who were not happy with this inter-religious union. Family members told the Times of India that "the young couple had started feeling that, given the situation in the state, their relationship was going to bring trouble to their families."
So, on the morning of March 20, near the railway station at Bantara, in front of shocked witnesses, the couple hugged each other, following which Feroz shot Gunjha in the head and then killed himself with a pistol.
The police initially suspected this was yet another case of honour killing because the two belonged to different religions. However, eyewitnesses explained to the police what had actually transpired.
"It happened before we could even believe what was going on. The couple was standing near the railway station, and then they hugged, and then we heard the gunshots," said Mohan Singh, a local resident who happened to be passing by at the exact moment when the incident happened.
The relatives of both families were informed of the incident but both sides refused to take away the bodies after the post-mortem.