Honour killing angle to research scholar death

Shama, who recently completed her PhD from the Punjabi department of the University, had gone to meet her family members on July 24 at Chamkaur Sahib, about 50 km from here, where she died under mysterious circumstances and was cremated the next morning by her family members.

Close friends of the deceased say that Shama was in love with a boy hailing from a backward caste and both wanted to get married. They allege that Shama had often told them her parents were opposed to the relationship and her proposal for marriage with the boy.

Family members claim she died of a heart attack. However, the complainants to the rights commission have alleged that Shama was never admitted to any hospital and had been cremated early morning by her family members after her mysterious death the previous night.

“Her father, Krishan Inder Swaroop Shukla and brother, Mohit, poisoned her and cremated her the next morning without informing any of their relatives,” alleges Deepika Gupta, chairperson of Students Human Rights Network, a student NGO which is pressing for probe into Shama’s death.