M A I N   N E W S

Honour Killing
Four arrested, remanded
Vishal Joshi
Tribune News Service

Karnal, May 11
Two days after a pregnant woman and her lover were strangled to death in a village near here by her relatives, the police has arrested four persons, including the girl’s father, in connection with the honour killing.

The four — Om Prakash of Ballah village, the father of 23-year-old Sunita, two relatives Rajesh and Ram Mehar, and one Dharamveer - were arrested last night and produced before a duty magistrate today.

The court in Assandh town of the district has remanded the four to a 14-day judicial custody.

Even as four persons were arrested, no organisation, including the state government, had condemned the incident of honour killing.

Interestingly, Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and a battery of his ministers and MLAs and MPs from different parties are camping in Karnal for the past several days for canvassing for Indri bypoll, but no one had reacted to the incident that had shock the region.

Sunita and Jasbir, both of the Jat community, were murdered and their bodies were displayed outside the family house in Balla village, apparently as a warning to others who might try to emulate the “immoral act” on Friday.

The family had strong reservations over the couple’s relationship as Sunita’s marriage was annulled due to her extra-marital affair.

The police said Dharamveer was the driver of one of the vehicles in which Sunita and Jasbir were bundled into after a mob pulled them out of a house in Phurlak village on Thursday night.

Though the police had registered a case against 20 persons, it has failed to arrest others.

Meanwhile, the Panipat police clarified that the couple was not forcibly taken from Neelam’s residence at Macchroli village, where they were reportedly residing for the past few months.

Panipat district police chief M.S. Sheroan said some family members of the girl had contacted the sarpanch of Macchroli village on Friday before entering Neelam’s house.

“Our investigation revealed that the family members of Sunita had told the sarpanch that they were keen to take the couple back to the village with their consent. There was no basis that the couple was taken forcibly from the Panipat village,” he claimed.

Sheroan said no crime took place in Panipat district and it was up to the Karnal police to investigate the brutal murders.