Most of the villagers fled after police arrested four persons — all family members — while acting on a complaint of a honour killing case involving a 20-year-old girl, resident of Badipur, Roorkee in Haridwar district. The girl was allegedly smothered to death by her close relatives — her mother, uncle and brother — on the night of October 21 and was cremated in the dead of night without even her father being informed.
With police on the lookout for 15 persons with regard to the alleged murder, some villagers have fled the village and are now on the run, police said.
Dwelling on the details of sensational honour killing case-rare in Utarakhand- Buggawala police station officer Govind Kumar said on Saturday that the deceased’s boy friend (Ajay) had registered a complaint in Buggawala police station following which a case under appropriate sections of IPC was registered against 15 persons, including the deceased’s mother Mithilesh, brother Saurabh, maternal uncle Ashok and uncle Sarmaur and Saurabh’s friend Sunil. “Four of the accused — Mithilesh, Saurabh, Sunil and Sarmaur- have been arrested so far. Teams have been formed to arrest those, including the deceased’s maternal uncle Ashok, who are now on the run,” he said. Police further said that most of the villagers have fled the village, scared as they were of being taken into custody and grilled. “We are now collecting evidences if some of the accused family’s neighbours were directly or indirectly involved in the murder. Right now, we are not ruling out their complicity,” a police officer privy to the probe said.
Police sources said that the girl was having a relationship with Ajay from the same village over the past two and half years. “Both wanted to marry, something that the girl’s mother (Mithilesh) strongly opposed. The reason behind the resistance is not clear as both are from the same caste. On October 21, the deceased’s maternal uncle Ashok reached their home.
Mithilesh saw her daughter talking to her boy friend over the phone. Angered over this, Ashok, Mithilesh and Saurabh together strangled her to death.
At that time, the deceased’s father was away from the home. After he arrived the deceased’s mother told him that she had committed suicide by consuming some poisonous substances. On the same night, along with his friend Sunil, Saurav took the body to a cremation ground and the body was cremated,” police sources said.