Bathinda, Oct. 15 -- A Bathinda district and sessions court has framed a murder charge against a 19-year-old youth from Maur town in the district, Mukul Mittal, in the death of a college student whose body was recovered from the Kotla branch canal on March 12 this year. The deceased was a friend of the accused and both belonged to Maur. In his order passed on Monday, the additional sessions judge, Rajiv Kalra, did not press a rape charge due to a lack of sufficient evidence, even as semen was detected by the forensic experts from vaginal swabs of the victim. The order cited forensic reports stating that no poison was detected in the samples of viscera and it has confirmed the cause of death as antemortem drowning. As per the detailed judgement, which was released today, Mukul's parents, uncle and two friends will face a trial under Sections 238 (disappearance of evidence), 249 (harbouring an offender), 61 (2) (criminal conspiracy) and 239 (intentional omission of giving information respecting the offence) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The order stated that a juvenile was found to be accused and separate proceedings were initiated against him. The deceased, a student from a Chandigarh-based college, went missing on March 9 after reaching Maur but failed to return to her hostel. Her body was recovered three days later by a team from the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), prompting public outcry and the formation of two SITs by the authorities. A first information report (FIR) was registered at Maur under sections 140(3) (abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine a person), 137(2) (Punishment for kidnapping), 61(2) (criminal conspiracy) of the BNS and a murder charge was added after the recovery of the body from a canal. Mukul, his parents, Ravi Kumar and Dimple Rani and uncle Raj Kumar were arrested on March 11. Mukul's friends Karan and Raghav were arrested on March 11 and 12, respectively, but were granted bail on July 4. The Juvenile Justice Board granted bail to a 16-year-old accused on June 19. Initially, the victim's father and complainant had told police that his daughter called her mother claiming she had been abducted and faced an attempt of sexual assault. However, in a revised statement to the special investigating team (SIT) headed by the superintendent of police (city) Narinder Singh, the complainant said his earlier remarks were made "in a huff" and claimed the girl was forcibly held at Mukul's residence between 8.30 pm and 1.30 am on the night of the incident. The SIT had submitted challan in court in June, where, on the basis of the probe, charges of conspiracy and abduction were dropped against all seven accused. As per the SIT report, Mukul and the deceased met on the evening of March 9 and were together until the early hours of March 10. They travelled to a temple in Barnala in an SUV before returning to Maur and moving around the town on a motorcycle. The report stated that the two had a heated argument over Mukul's plans to move to Pune for higher studies, after which he allegedly pushed the girl into the canal. While no direct eyewitness or video footage of the act exists, the police have cited Mukul's behaviour post-incident, making multiple calls to friends and relatives as part of the circumstantial evidence. Mukul and his uncle Raj Kumar have also been accused of attempting to destroy evidence by hiding the victim's mobile phone, clothes and belongings. Mukul's parents, Ravi Kumar and Dimple Rani, allegedly tampered with CCTV footage and the DVR system at their home, the SIT report stated. The court will now hear the matter on November 17 to record prosecution witnesses....