Haryana police arrested a 19-year-old girl for allegedly murdering seven of her family members, including her parents and brother, in connivance with her 20-year-old boyfriend on Saturday evening at a village near Rohtak.
Sonam and her paramour Naveen have been arrested for allegedly poisoning and strangling to death seven members of her family as they objected to their relationship on the grounds that the couple belonged to the same sub-caste.
Sonam confessed to mixing poison in the food she served to her family. “ Sonam mixed some intoxicant in the flour before the dinner Monday night. After eating the chapattis made from it, all the family members fell unconscious," Rohtak Superintendent of Police Anil Kumar Rao said.
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Mr. Rao added that, after the family fell unconscious Sonam called Naveen, who lives in the neighbourhood, and both of them killed the seven people by strangling them.
He added that the young woman admitted that she hated her family for opposing her love affair on the grounds of India's strict caste system. The couple hail from the same caste and were prohibited to marry under guidelines enforced by a village social council. “The two feared that they could be badly beaten or even killed for ignoring caste and social dictum, so they decided to kill the family before eloping to get married,” he added.