LAHORE, May 23: The Sattokatla investigation police claimed on Wednesday to have solved the mystery shrouding the murder of a young couple. They said the woman’s brothers strangled the couple in the name of honour. However, no arrest has so far been made.

Investigation in charge Azmat Hayat said the teams found whereabouts of the unidentified couple on Tuesday night whose partially putrefied bodies were recovered from a box lying at Ashfaq Chowk.

The victims, identified as Umar, 29, son of Iqbal of Mian Hakam, Luddan, Vehari, and Jannat, 25, daughter of Ahmad Yar, of Ghulam Bhatti Colony, Kot Lakhpat, Lahore, were cousins.

Ahmad Yar, a barber by profession, told police that his nephew, Umar, had been living in Ghulam Bhatti Colony for the last few months and was working at a general store in the area.

“In the course of time, Umar and my daughter, Jannat, developed relations which continued for some months. About two weeks ago, my sons Ghulam Husain and Muhammad Husain found them together in the house,” he said.

“They thrashed and strangled both of them, put their bodies in a box and concealed it in the house,” he told investigators.

Ahmad Yar said he was afraid of telling any one about the incident and remained tight-lipped on the advice of his sons.

They loaded the box on to a donkey-cart after the bodies started stinking on Monday night and dropped it at Ashfaq Chowk.

Ahmad Yar was released after interrogations while a search for the arrest of the accused was in progress.

The bodies were handed over to their families after autopsy.