Lucknow, Dec 2 (IANS): Anjali Pal had just turned 19 and was looking to a fairy-tale life with her lover, also of the same age. Her parents were unaware of her love story and she was waiting for her lover to get a job so that she could inform her parents of her intentions to marry him.

It was an October evening (2023) when her parents had gone to visit some relatives and it would be some hours before they returned.

Anjali’s two sisters -- Surabhi (6) and Roshni (7) -- had gone out to play when her lover. She asked him to come over since she was alone at home at that time.

He came and within no time, the two got intimate. Just then the two sisters returned from play and opened the door of Anjali’s room. They caught the couple in a compromising position and Anjali feared that they would spill the beans before the parents.

She, along with her lover, then attacked the two girls with a shovel and slit their throats.

When her parents returned, she joined the family in mourning.

"When police reached the site, a shovel with blood stains (appeared to have been cleaned) was recovered. We also found some clothes being left to dry inside the house," a senior police official said.

ASP Satyapal Singh, who had reached the spot, said, “Anjali was very calm during investigation and this created suspicion. Her statements were also contradictory.”

The police learnt about her affair with a local youth and questioned her. She finally broke down and confessed to the crime after which she was arrested.

Jaiveer, her father and a farmer in Bahadurpur village in the district, could not believe that his daughter could commit such a crime.

“She never displayed any signs of aggression and loved her siblings. I cannot digest it that Anjali killed her sisters,” the distraught father said.

The police officers said that Anjali’s behaviour was unusual because the moment her sisters saw her, she picked up a shovel and attacked them.

“Seeing the girls lying in a pool of blood, she remained calm, washed the shovel, sent away her lover and even washed her clothes. It is shocking that such a young girl could indulge in such heinous crime. Even after her arrest, she remained unusually calm,” a police officer said.

Dr R K Saxena, a psychiatrist, said: “A significant point in the case is that Anjali was a mobile addict and must have been watching clips related to sex and crime. Committing a crime, therefore, did not seem a big deal for her. Majority of the teens who commit crime -- girls or boys -- have been found to have unlimited access to mobile phones and internet.”

The doctor also called for making laws for juvenile more stringent.

“Juvenile criminals are sent to shelter homes and get released after three years. We need to take a relook at the laws because someone who can commit such heinous crimes needs punishment that is commensurate with the gravity of the crime. In this case, Anjali killed two minor sisters and did not show any remorse which makes the crime serious,” he said.