In a shocking crime, Raghunandan Paswan, a 21-year-old man from Bihar, was brutally murdered and his body chopped into seven pieces, which were later found in a gunny bag in Mumbai’s Gorai area. The police are investigating the murder, with suspicions pointing towards an interfaith relationship as the motive.

Raghunandan, originally from Kanholi village in Bihar’s Darbhanga district, had been in a relationship with a 17-year-old girl. According to Mumbai police, the girl’s family disapproved of their connection, believing it to be an interfaith affair. After the girl broke off the relationship, Raghunandan allegedly attempted to rekindle it, which angered her family.

The murder reportedly took place in Bhayandar, where the girl’s brothers, allegedly accompanied by others, lured Raghunandan to Mumbai under the pretext of a trip. Once in the city, they sedated him before killing him. His body was then transported in an auto-rickshaw and dumped in Gorai. The auto-rickshaw driver has been detained, and the police are actively searching for the remaining suspects, including the girl’s brothers.

Raghunandan’s father, Jitendra Paswan, identified his son through a tattoo on his right hand, which read “RA.” Jitendra had been searching for his son since October 31, when Raghunandan went missing after telling his family he was going to Mumbai with friends. Jitendra filed a missing person’s complaint at Andheri Police Station after his son’s phone went silent.

The tragic murder has left Raghunandan’s family in shock. His father, a security guard in Bihar, described the incident as a horrific blow to their family. He had previously intervened to end his son’s contact with the girl’s family, after they had issued death threats, but it appears the matter escalated to this violent end.

Police are continuing their investigation and have detained one of the girl’s brothers for questioning. The case has drawn attention to the dangerous consequences of familial disapproval over interfaith relationships.