Hung up on 'honour', father murders girl who eloped
I have done nothing wrong by killing her, he says
Yet another girl in Uttar Pradesh has paid with her life for falling in love and insisting on marrying her lover. She was killed by none other than her father for the sake of family honor.
Eighteen-year old Reshma was strangled by her father Salim in Hapur district on Thursday after she refused to desert her lover and marry someone else as wished by the family.
After killing his daughter, an unrepentant Salim went to the local police station and told everything to the cops.
According to reports, Reshma had an affair with Aqueel, who is already married and a father of four children. Reshma’s family did not approve of the relationship as Aqueel was not only married but also belonged to a different caste.
Reshma eloped with Aqueel a few days back, enraging Salim further.
He hatched a plan to eliminate his daughter. He went to Aqueel’s home and persuaded Reshma to return home on the pretext of getting her married with her lover, police said.
An unsuspecting Reshma believed her father and came back with him on Wednesday.
In the wee hours of Thursday, Salim strangled Reshma with her dupatta. She died on the spot, police added.
Salim went to police and confessed his crime. “My family’s reputation in society would have been ruined completely had Reshma married someone who was not of my caste. I have done nothing wrong by killing her,” he told police.
A case has been registered against Salim.
Several lovers had been killed in the past in UP, especially in the Jat dominated western region for defying their families. The all powerful khaps, the caste panchayats, have made it clear that they will not allow love marriages and marriages in the same gotra.
The panchayats have also punished lovers for defying their diktat.
