In a suspected case of honour killing, a couple allegedly strangled their 21-year-old daughter, a Delhi University student, who married a man belonging to another community, on Sunday.
The couple, who also cremated the girl without informing her husband or even the police, has been arrested.
The incident took place five days after Bhawna Yadav, whose family hails from Rajasthan, married Abhishek Seth (24), a Punjabi based in Delhi. They had known each other from the past two years and tied the knot on November 12.
Bhawna and Abhishek married at an Arya Samaj temple as resistance from Bhawna’s parents meant that they could not inform them. After this the girl moved to Abhishek's Uttam Nagar house and informed her parents Jagmohan and Savitri.
According to Abhishek, Bhawna’s parents requested that she be sent back home so that they could organise a grand wedding.
“On November 12, they said their reputation was at stake and they wanted to convey to the society that it was an arranged marriage and took her to their home in Bharat Vihar, a rural colony in Dwarka,” he said.
Two days later, Bhawna returned to her husband and confided that her parents were trying to talk her out of the marriage and had even thrashed her. On November14, the parents visited Abhishek's house, apologised and took Bhawna back.
The only time the young couple spoke to each other after that was when Bhawna's maternal uncle called Abhishek on Sunday night and threatened to eliminate him. “Bhawna came on the receiver to assure me that everything was alright and her uncle was speaking under the influence of alcohol,” said Abhishek.
Next morning he received a call from one of Bhawna’s cousin who informed him that she had been killed.
Abhishek approached police upon which investigations were started. A team was sent to Alwar to arrest the parents. Police said they have confessed to the murder.
“They disclosed that they strangled the girl at 2 a.m. on Sunday. They then called their relatives at their village in Alwar to inform that she had been bitten by a snake and they would be bringing her by a car for treatment by a quack there,” said a police officer.
Sometime later they called their relatives again to inform that Bhawna had died on the way and that they should quickly prepare for her cremation, the officer added.
The maternal uncle of the girl is absconding.
