In a bizarre case of “honour killing”, a retired Army man from neighbouring Sonepat in Haryana allegedly got his daughter criminally assaulted and her husband brutally murdered in Narela here on Diwali night as they belonged to the same sub-caste. The father has been arrested along with three young men.
Virender Singh and Shikha (name changed) belonged to Mahara village in Sonepat. They fell in love during their school days and wanted to get married, but their families and villagers were opposed to this as the two belonged to the same gotra, the police said.
Defying them all, the young couple eloped from the village three years ago. The girl’s father Daya Singh got an abduction case registered and subsequently Virender was arrested and put behind bars. While he was in jail, Shikha was forcibly married off to Jaipal, a resident of Jind. When the bridegroom learnt about her previous relationship, he allegedly started torturing her.
In the meantime, Virender was released after Shikha gave a favourable statement in the court.
According to the police, Shikha left Jaipal’s home one day and started living with Virender at Samaipur Badli in Delhi. The couple later tied the knot in Chandigarh and shifted to Samalkha in Haryana. Their whereabouts remained hidden from their parents, but not for long.
They were recently contacted by an old acquaintance, Inderjeet, who invited them to the Narela residence of Sandeep, who belonged to their village, to celebrate Diwali on October 17.
The couple went to Sandeep’s house on Diwali night oblivious of the trap allegedly laid by Daya Singh in connivance with his son along with Inderjeet, Sandeep and others. All the accused suddenly arrived there, overpowered Virender, beat him up and allegedly strangled him.
Shikha has alleged that Sandeep and Inderjeet then criminally assaulted her.
After ensuring that Virender was dead, the accused transported his body to Sonepat in Sandeep’s van and threw it into a canal after tying it up to a heavy stone. They forcibly took Shikha along with them and kept her in confinement. However, on finding an opportunity she escaped to a friend’s house in Najafgarh.
She then lodged a complaint with the Narela police on Monday recounting the nightmare.
At her instance, the police recovered Virender’s body from the canal.
In subsequent raids, the Special Staff of the Delhi police arrested Daya Singh, Sandeep, Inderjeet and Pawan from Delhi and Haryana. While Sandeep’s van has been impounded, the police are now on the lookout for the complainant’s brother.
