Bhopal: A man and a woman in their early 20s were hacked to death allegedly by the latter’s father and two others over their inter-caste relationship in Datia district of Madhya Pradesh, police said on Saturday, adding a case of murder has been registered against three absconding accused.

The bodies of Neha Yadav (20) and Rohit Vishwakarma (22), both residents of Ruaha village in Datia, were recovered from a field in their village on Friday late night, a senior police officer said, suspecting it to be a case of hate crime.

“The two were in a relationship for the past few months. When Neha’s family came to know about it recently, they sent her to stay at her maternal uncle’s house in Sewda town,” Datia superintendent of police (SP) Pradeep Sharma said. “They, however, eloped on January 21 following which the woman’s family registered a missing complaint at Baghuvapura police station in Datia.”

The woman and the man belonged to different castes within the Other Backward Classes (OBC).

After their bodies were recovered from an agricultural field on Friday night, the police questioned the family members of the woman. “During the probe, it came to light that the woman’s father, Arvind Yadav, along with two others hacked the couple to death,” the SP said. “A first information report (FIR) under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been registered against Arvind Yadav and two others, who are currently absconding.”

The bodies have been sent for a post-mortem examination. “Police are trying to nab the accused. Further probe is underway,” the SP added.