Rohtak 'honour killing': Girl's parents, uncle arrested

Haryana Police Thursday arrested the parents and uncle of a  young woman, who was slain a day earlier after she eloped with a man from her village in the state's Rohtak district. The hunt is on for the other accused, including the girl's brother.

Accused of the Garnavathi "honour killing" case, the girl's father Narender alias Billu, mother Rita and uncle Ravinder, were on Friday produced before a local court. The court sent Narender and Ravinder to five days police remand while her mother Rita was sent to judicial custody.

The bodies of Dharmender, 22, and Nidhi, 20, victims of the "honour killing", were found  Wednesday.

Dharmender's headless body was thrown outside his house in Garnavathi village near Kalanaur, about 250 km from Chandigarh, and 80 km from the national capital, Wednesday evening. Nidhi's body was cremated by her family in secret.

Police took possession of Dharmender's body, but were only able to recover charred remains of the woman.

Rohtak police chief Rajesh Duggal told media here Thursday that the accused, during police interrogation, had confessed to their crime.

"Body of Dharmender was today handed over to his kin after postmortem examination from the PGIMS (Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences). Hunt has also been launched to nab other accused, including the girl's brother Sunny, his friend Rajesh and the car driver Mahesh alias  Chhippi," Duggal said.

A special team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar had been constituted to probe into the matter thoroughly besides ascertaining the involvement of other people in the crime.

"Efforts are also being made to recover the car in which the couple were brought back to Garnavathi village and weapons used in the crime," said Duggal, adding that the absconding accused would also be arrested soon as raids were being carried out at their possible hideouts.

Meanwhile, police personnel have been deputed in the village to prevent any untoward incident. Residents of the village have refused to tell anything to police about Wednesday's incident. They did not share anything with the media either.

Police said that seven others from Nidhi's family are suspected of involvement in the crime.

Police suspect that the family had asked the couple to return from Delhi. The family was unhappy that she was having an affair with Dharmendra, and had eloped with him Tuesday. They belonged to the same gotra and village due to which their families opposed their relationship.

The victims were friends studying in institutions in Rohtak, 10 km from their village.

The Khap panchayats (community councils) of this region disallow marriages within the same village and "gotra" or caste lineage. Although the khap decisions do not have the sanction of law,  they are influential in many village communities.

In the past, young couples have been killed and attacked by khaps which do not accept marriages  within the same gotra or village.

In some cases, the man and woman, even  after they get married, are forced to accept each other as brother and  sister.