A day after a couple was attacked in east Delhi’s New Ashok Nagar by two members of the woman’s family, it has been learnt that the accused allegedly abducted the children of a cousin of the victim to force the person to share the details of the couple’s whereabouts.
Seventy-year-old maternal grandmother of the 25-year-old woman, who is battling for life at Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital after being stabbed several times by her uncle and brother, said her granddaughter eloped with her distant relative Dinesh on January 2. Dinesh, who was stabbed to death, is survived by his wife, three children, three sisters and mother.
The grandmother said that Dinesh was the woman’s distant maternal uncle and that her “act” had brought “a bad name” to the family .
“We had no idea she would do something like this. It came as a shock. She was to get married on February 18. She was talking to her fiancé regularly and shopping for the wedding with enthusiasm,” claimed the woman’s cousin who was visiting the family after receiving the news.
Family clueless
The family which claimed to have no knowledge of the relationship between the two said they suspected that they came in touch when Dinesh was living with the woman’s grandmother.
“Dinesh is my sister’s son. After her husband passed away, I took her in along with her family. Dinesh got married a couple of years ago. I threw him out of my house two years ago because he did not want to work,” said the grandmother, adding that Dinesh was financially dependent on her mother and sisters who worked as domestic help in the area.
The woman’s family said Dinesh wasn’t allowed to come near their residence. When the woman’s family members came to know that she had eloped on Tuesday, they went to check at Dinesh’s rented accommodation in Ghaziabad. “His wife said that he hadn’t been at home since morning. It became clear that the two had left together,” said the grandmother.
She claimed that her grandson started looking everywhere and went as far as Haridwar and Bulandshahr to trace the couple.
“They knew that Dinesh was close to his cousin Sunil. The boys (accused) brought his children home and asked Sunil to come and get them. He was kept here for a night,” she said.
A scared Sunil revealed that he was in touch with the couple. When Dinesh called Sunil, the latter put the phone on speaker.
“He was heard asking for help to get their court marriage registered. The boys lost their calm. How could she marry her own uncle who was a father of three children,” the grandmother asked.
The accused, with the help of Sunil, then allegedly tricked the couple to come near Mayur Vihar where the two were stabbed by the woman’s brother Shiva and maternal uncle Rinku. The duo was arrested.
The family said they wished she had gotten married in November, the month her marriage was earlier scheduled but got delayed because her fiance’s mother passed away. “The news has spread. We haven’t called to tell them but they must have got to know. Don’t think this marriage will take place now,” said the woman’s cousin.
Joint Commissioner of Police (Eastern Range) Ravindra Yadav said that role of other family members in the crime is being ascertained.
