Ranchi (PTI): Around 12 per cent voter turnout was recorded till 9 am in the civic polls to 48 urban local bodies in Jharkhand on Monday, an election official said.

Voting, which commenced at 7 am, is underway amid tight security. It will continue till 5 pm, he said.

"Voter turnout of 12 per cent was recorded till 9 am. Polling is underway peacefully," State Election Commission (SEC) secretary Radhe Shyam Prasad said.

Over 43 lakh voters are eligible to decide the fate of 6,000-plus candidates.

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State Election Commissioner (SEC) Alka Tiwari exercised her franchise at ward number 40 in Ranchi.

"Polling is underway peacefully across the state and reports are so far good from every ULB. I would like to appeal to the voters to exercise their franchise," Tiwari told reporters.

Prasad said the elections are underway for the posts of mayor and chairperson in 48 ULBs, and councillors in 1,042 wards across nine municipal corporations, 20 nagar parishads and 19 nagar panchayats.

As many as 562 candidates, including 235 women, are in the fray for the posts of mayor and chairperson, while 5,562 candidates, including 2,727 women, are contesting the posts of ward councillors.

Prasad said adequate security arrangements have been made in all the booths.

A total of 4,307 polling booths have been set up for the elections. Of these, 896 have been identified as hyper-sensitive and 2,445 as sensitive.

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New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.

The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.

The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.

The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.

"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.

On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.

Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.

"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.

Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.

During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.

The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.

Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.

Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.

A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.

Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.

"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.

Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.