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Honour Killing
Mother-in-law, bride killed
Varinder Singh
Tribune News Service

Patti, May 12
In an act of savagery that smacks of honour killing, Gurleen Kaur, a newly married 19-year-old woman, and her mother-in-law were hacked to death and her husband was chased out of his house and shot at in Bahmniwala village in the wee hours today by father, brother, two uncles and four armed cousins of the girl.

Angry over the marriage of Gurleen Kaur and 23-year-old Amarpreet Singh against their wishes, relatives of the girl attacked the couple's house at Brahmiwal village in Tarn Taran district. In a fit of rage, they opened fire, killing the girl and her mother-in-law and seriously injuring the boy.

While, the girl and mother-in-law Kuljit Kaur (50) died on the spot the groom, who tried to take on the attackers, ran away with serious gunshot injuries, the police said. He is still struggling for life in a private hospital in Amritsar, they added

None of the alleged accused — Gurleen’s father Joginder Singh (55), her brother Guriqbal Singh (16), Pritam Singh, Mohinder Singh, uncles, and cousins Hardev Singh and Lal Singh, and another relative Sarvan Singh — has been arrested by the police so far. A case has, however, been registered.

Intriguingly, the family of Gurleen had accorded societal recognition to Gurleen’s “court marriage” as they had solmenised their marriage at a Tarn Taran-based gurdwara about two months back. The family had even thrown a grand party to relatives and friends giving indications that there were no objections whatsoever over the marriage.

However, neither Amarpreet nor Gurleen had ever visited residence of her father or any of their relatives after their marriage indicating that bitterness had not got washed away.

Narrating chain of events, Amarpreet said armed with a double-barrel gun, swords and sickles, Joginder Singh and seven other relatives of Gurleen barged into their Bahmniwala based residence around 1 am and attacked them while the family members were asleep.

Shocked over intrusion in the house, Amarpreet’s mother Kuljit Kaur tried to dissuade the attackers, but they killed her with swords and sickles. Gurleen also bled to death on the spot as she was repeatedly stabbed with sharp-edged weapons.

Then Joginder Singh chased Amarpreet who ran into the street despite having been attacked by them at his home. The attackers kept firing shots at him till he reached tubewell of Karamjit Singh where one of bullets hit him in his lower back.

The killers walked away thinking that Amarpreet had died. A seriously injured Amarpreet was rushed to an Amritsar-based hospital by his uncle Harpal Singh and his condition was said to be critical.

SSP Preet Pal Singh Virk said: “We can say it a case of honour killing and the accused have been booked under Sections 302, 307, 452 of the IPC and Sections 25, 27 and 54 of the Arms Act.”