The spectre of 'honour' killing seems to have reared its ugly head again, this time in the Capital. A 22-year-old NGO worker has been strangled to death by his lover's family in north Delhi's Burari.
Manoj Kumar, alias Aryan, had a year-long affair with a girl whose infuriated uncle and brothers hatched a plan and murdered him on June 14.One of the accused, Pankaj, whose car was used in the crime, was arrested on Saturday night, while the others are absconding, along with the girl. Aryan's body has not been found.
On June 14, the 21-year-old girl had called the victim to Wazirabad on directions from her family. The girl's family members also arrived at the spot and following an argument, her mother, brother and an uncle — along with his associate — strangled Manoj. They stuffed his body into a gunny bag and dumped it in the Yamuna.
On June 17, Manoj's elder brother Sanjay Singh approached Jaroda Police with a missing complaint. Since he was missing from Sant Nagar, a case was registered at Burari Police Station.After scanning the victim's laptop, investigators found two photos of a girl, who worked with him in the same NGO. "They questioned all close friends of the victim. In April, when the girl's family came to know, they first thrashed Manoj and the stopped her from going out," said a police officer.
On June 20, Manoj's motorcycle was found some 100 metres from the girl's residence. "When police went to the house on June 21, the family claimed they did not know about his movements. But after sustained interrogation and seeing technical evidences, including call detail records, the girl's mother admitted to the affair and the fact that they were not happy as Manoj was from a different caste," the officer added. "Police have now added charges of murder (302) and destroying evidence (201) to the existing FIR. The search for the absconders is on," he said.