Honour killing: Woman killed by family over love affair

In yet another case of honour killing, a  woman was brutally murdered, allegedly by her father and brother, for falling in love against the family's wishes, in Uttar Pradesh's Shamli district, about 500 km from here.

According to police sources, four people, including the father and brother, have been arrested.

Sources said that the woman, who had allegedly been having an affair with a relative, was stabbed several times with a 'khurpa' (a small shovel like object used to cut grass and other small plants), killing her instantly. The body was later dumped in a field not far from her village.

The family members fled their home in the village after the crime, sources said.

The cops recovered the body on Thursday from the fields near Mundet Kala village in the district, sources said.

Investigation revealed that the woman had repeatedly refused marriage with a man chosen by the family.

''The family suspected that she had been having an affair with one of the relatives,'' said a senior police official in Shamli.

Ilam Chand, the father of the 25-year-old victim, said that the family's prestige and reputation had taken a beating owing to her alleged affair.

''We tried to pursue her to marry and told her not to meet her lover but she did not mend her ways,'' Ilam Chand told the cops.

'Khap' murders  

The family members then hatched a conspiracy to kill her. They packed off other women members of the family to a relative's house on Thursday. The same night, they killed the woman, sources said.

Several women have been killed for the sake of family honour after they insisted on marrying their lovers. The powerful 'khaps' (caste panchayats) have made it clear that they will not allow love marriages and also marriages within the same clan.