Facebook, biryani and murder

 

 

The digital age often paves the way for unexpected relationships, and Sana Khan’s story is no exception. What started as a virtual friendship between Sana and Amit alias Pappu Shahu on Facebook during the lockdown evolved into a relationship, before meeting an untimely tragic end.

 

Sana alias Heena Khan, a 34-year-old functionary of Bharatiya Janata Party’s Minority Cell from Awasthi Nagar, befriended Pappu on Facebook during the lockdown. As their friendship deepened, Sana Khan managed to obtain Pappu’s mobile number from Facebook. The two engaged in constant interactions and sparked a bond of love. Their first in-person encounter took place in May 2021, during a train journey when Sana was returning from Varanasi. Pappu Shahu had offered her a tiffin of biryani. This marked the beginning of blossoming of love between the two, police said. Eventually, they started meeting at Nagpur and Jabalpur. The couple tied the knot this year in April. However, cracks began to appear in their relationship as investigation suggested that Sana’s behaviour turned abusive, causing distress to Amit.

 

Matters escalated on August 1 during a video call between Amit and Sana. During the call, Sana noticed that a gold chain she had gifted Amit was absent. This sparked a heated argument between the two and Sana abused Pappu, claimed police. During the argument, Sana demanded Rs five lakh she had invested in his Dhaba. Amit invited Sana to Jabalpur for discussion. As a result, Sana went to Jabalpur on August 2. Upon her arrival at Amit’s residence, she again started abusing Pappu and a confrontation took place. In a fit of rage, Amit allegedly struck Sana on the head three times with a stick. She collapsed on the ground in a pool of blood. Before she got medical help, Sana succumbed to the injuries.