In a case of alleged “honour killing” a 24-year-old man was shot dead while a minor girl he knew sustained bullet injuries in Karawal Nagar in New Delhi on Sunday morning.
Family members of the deceased, Jeetendra, claimed that he and the girl were in a relationship for the last two years and that her family, which had always objected to their proximity, was behind the murder. The boy and the girl are from different castes and this, allegedly, was the bone of contention.
“On Sunday , around 5 a.m. Jeetendra received a call after which he left home. A couple of hours later we were informed that his body is lying near a canal near our home with a firearm lying next to it,” said Sanjeev Tomar, Jeetendra’s uncle.
Earlier in the day, after being shot the 16-year-old girl had rushed down from the second floor of her house screaming for help. It was then her family members realised that she had been shot in her chest. The girl was rushed to GTB Hospital and is undergoing treatment there.
It was from the hospital authorities that the police learnt about the girl having been shot. They were told by the victim's brother Sandeep that he noticed a rope hanging from the window of the room where his sister was sleeping. He also claimed that the attacker had entered her room and fled after shooting her.
Claiming that the girl’s family was behind both the incidents, Mr. Tomar said the call was made to Jeetendra allegedly under pressure from her family. He insisted that as Jeetendra reached her house, both he and the girl were shot at, by the latter’s brother-in-law with help from her father and brother.
The police have seized Jeetendra’s mobile phone and are going through the call details to ascertain the sequence of events.
The girl’s father was also roughed up by the family members of Jeetendra as they held him responsible for his death.
Jeetendra had finished schooling and was assisting his father with his business. The girl is a Class XI student.
No arrests have been made so far in the case but said all angles including honour killing were being probed. A senior police officer, who did not divulge on the specific role of the girl’s family, said that it was being probed that who made the call to Jeetendra and where exactly was he shot.
The police are also waiting for the boy’s autopsy report that is expected to come by Monday. Two separate cases, one each of murder and attempt to murder, have been registered.
