MEERUT, Jan. 12 -- More than a week after a Dalit woman, Sunita, 50, was murdered and her 20-year-old daughter Ruby abducted in Meerut's Kapsad village, police on Sunday produced the accused, Paras Som, before the court under tight security. The court remanded Paras to 14 days of judicial custody, following which he was lodged in Meerut district jail. Heavy police deployment remained in place throughout the court proceedings, while a large crowd, including media personnel and representatives of political parties, gathered on the premises. Earlier in the day, Ruby was produced before the court of the additional chief judicial magistrate (ACJM-II), where her statement was recorded for nearly 50 minutes. After the proceedings, she was taken away by the police. Later, Paras Som was presented before the chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court. He was produced with his face covered with a muffler and wrapped in a blanket. According to lawyers present during the hearing, the court questioned him about the incident, to which he repeatedly claimed innocence. Senior superintendent of police (Meerut) Vipin Tada said the court treated Paras as an adult and remanded him to 14 days of judicial custody. He added that Ruby's statement had also been recorded and was being examined. "Further action will be taken on the basis of the woman's statement. The circumstances under which the murder took place are yet to be ascertained," the SSP said. A heavy police presence was maintained on the court premises, with Civil Lines circle officers (COs) Abhishek Tiwari and Sardhana Ashutosh Kumar supervising security arrangements. The incident occurred on January 8, when Ruby was on her way to the fields with her mother, Sunita. According to police, Paras stopped the woman on the road. When Sunita objected, he abused her and allegedly attacked her with a sharp-edged weapon, killing her on the spot. He then took Ruby with him and fled towards Delhi. On January 9, Paras moved to Gurugram and stayed with a friend. During this period, investigators said, he closely monitored media reports to track developments in his village. As tensions mounted, Paras left Gurugram and travelled by train with Ruby to Saharanpur. One of his relatives lives in Tapri village of Saharanpur, where the two stayed on Friday night. On Saturday, Paras took Ruby on a train to Haridwar. During the journey, he allegedly used another passenger's mobile phone to call a quack, Rajendra, with whom he worked, to enquire about his family. Using technical surveillance, Meerut police alerted their Haridwar counterparts. Acting on the directions of Haridwar SSP Pramendra Dobal, a police team laid a trap at Roorkee railway station. As the train arrived, both were taken into custody at around 6:15 pm on Saturday. A team led by the Meerut SP (city) later reached Roorkee, and by around 10:30 pm, both were brought to Meerut. Meanwhile, police teams continued efforts late into Sunday evening to recover the weapon allegedly used in the murder....