A young Indian woman was beaten to death by members of her own
family and her boyfriend beheaded in an horrific honour killing after
they were lured back to their village thinking were going to be allowed
to marry.
Nidhi Barak, 20, a fine arts student, and Dharmender Barak, 23, who
was studying at technical college, were killed last night as locals in
Gharnavati village in the Indian state of Haryana watched on.
The pair had eloped to nearby Delhi on Tuesday because their
families did not approve of their relationship.
But they had been lured back with promises that they would not be
harmed and would finally be allowed to marry.
Miss Barak's parents and uncle have been arrested and police are
now trying to trace her brother and other family members who
disappeared missing since the crime.
According to police the couple were tortured for several hours at Miss
Barak's home before she was beaten to death in full public view.
Dharmender Barak was beaten and his arms and legs broken, before
he was beheaded. His body was allegedly dumped near his family's
home at a public square in the village.
Police, who had been alerted by a villager, reportedly caught Miss
Barak's family cremating her body on a pyre.
Her half-burnt body and that of Dharmender Barak have been sent for
a post-mortem.
Local police chief Anil Kumar said: 'While murdering the boy they also
beheaded him.
'We have arrested her father, mother and uncle and we are looking for
her brother, a friend and driver of the car in which the couple were
brought back to her home in Gharnavati village.
'Both belonged to the same village and the same caste. It is an
honour killing but the murder was not approved by society.'
India has for centuries seen killings that often target young couples
who have relationships of which their families, clans or communities,
particularly in traditional rural areas, disapprove.
Reasons for disapproval are numerous, but they sometimes include
having relationships outside of their caste or religion.
The killings are carried out by relatives to protect the family's
reputation and pride.
Police in Haryana have been conducting a campaign against honour
killings in the state, where the sex-gender ratio is skewed in favour of
men because of an outlawed but still existing tradition of female
infanticide.
'We hold seminars and our women officers visit villages but the
ultimate weapon against the scourge of honour killings is (more)
education,' Kumar said.
India's Supreme Court said in 2010 that the death penalty should be
given to those found guilty of honour killings, calling the crime a
barbaric 'slur' on the nation.
There are no official figures on honour killings in India, but the All
India Democratic Women's Association says its research shows about
1,000 such cases nationwide a year.
No comments:
Post a Comment