Girl killed by relatives for interfaith marriage

The only fault of 22-year-old Rukhsana (name changed) was that she had married someone who belonged to a different religion as she loved him. She had to pay for that with her life.

Rukhsana, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Pilibhit district, about 250 kilometers from Lucknow, was allegedly hacked to death by her family members, who were against her marriage to a man of a different religion.

According to reports, Rukhsana was having an affair with one Jai Prakash for the past few years. The couple had married at a temple about a month back as their family members were opposed to their relationship, reports said.

As the couple feared for their lives, they had moved the court which had directed the police to provide them adequate security. The police, however, did not allegedly provide any security to the couple, according to the reports.

Five days after the marriage, Rukhsana was abducted allegedly by her brothers and other relatives near Lakhera in the district. Her husband later lodged a report with the police charging Rukhsana's brother and some other people.

On Tuesday, Rukhsna's body was recovered from a nullah in Gauhanaia area near Pilibhit town.

Police officials suspect it to be a case of honour killing. The body has been sent for postmortem examination. A case has been registered and efforts were on to nab the culprits, the officials said.