Muzaffarnagar (UP), Oct 10 (PTI) Four people, including the father and brother of singer and YouTuber Farmani Naaz, were arrested on Tuesday in connection with the murder of her cousin, police said on Tuesday.

Khursheed (17) was stabbed to death on August 5 at Muhammadpur Mafi village in Ratanpuri police station area.

Also Read | Madhya Pradesh Assembly Election 2023: From Shivraj Singh Chouhan to Narottam Mishra and Kamal Nath, List of Key Candidates of BJP, Congress, and Their Constituencies.

Muzaffarnagar SP (rural) Atul Shrivastava said the involvement of five people, including the singer's father Arif, brother Farman and two relatives Zakir and Fariyad, came to light in the investigations.

While the four accused have been arrested, another accused Shakir is absconding and search is on to nab him, he said.

Also Read | What Is Hamas? What Does Hamas Want? Know All About Pro-Palestine Group That Rules Gaza Strip and Has Fought Several Rounds of War With Israel.

During interrogation, Farman told police that Khursheed was murdered over his illicit relations with his (Farman's) wife, the SP said, adding that the knife used in the crime has been recovered.

Last year, Naaz had courted controversy after she sang "Har Har Shambhu", a devotional song praising Lord Shiva. A Deoband cleric had termed it "un-Islamic" and "haram" (forbidden).

The singer, a resident of Muzaffarnagar whose YouTube channel has more than 4.5 million subscribers, had defended herself saying artistes do not have a religion and that she has not erred.

She had also participated in Season 12 of the singing reality show Indian Idol. PTI COR SAB

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)