ANOTHER HONOUR CRIME IN HARYANA

Dwaipayan Ghosh | TNN



New Delhi: It’s yet another instance of what’s becoming a horrifyingly story. Three years after a young couple fled their village in Haryana from families opposed to the ‘‘same-gotra’’ union, the girl’s family allegedly killed the 22-year-old man and locked up their daughter to be repeatedly raped by her relatives and their friends. She would have been killed too, say cops, but the gritty 21-yearold escaped from her captors and approached the police, turning in her father and other family members.
The gory turn of events began on Diwali day in Narela, outer Delhi, where the couple was tricked into joining a friend for celebrations. Police has arrested four people — the girl’s father Daya Singh (50), her nephew Sandeep and his friends Pawan and Inderjeet — for the alleged ‘‘honour killing’’ of her husband. They are also looking into claims by the girl that she was confined and raped by Sandeep and his acquaintances from October 17 to 22 when she managed to flee.
DCP (outer) Atul Katiyar said the victim Shruti (name changed) approached cops on October 26 with the help of a friend. Based on her account, police recovered the body of her husband, Virender Singh, from a canal in Sonepat district. A Maruti van owned by Sandeep which was allegedly used to dump the body has also been seized.
Police said Shruti was 18 and a student of Class 10 when she fell in love with Singh, two years her senior at school. ‘‘Their relationship was resented by her family and the villagers of Mahara in Sonepat as both belonged to the same gotra. Unable to convince their families, they fled from the village in October 2006,’’ said Om Prakash, assistant commissioner of police for operations, Outer Delhi. Both were majors — Shruti was 18, while Virender was 19.

Gory Tragedy


Couple flee Sonepat in 2006 as villagers oppose same-gotra relationship
Virender jailed for abduction, his lover forcibly married off
Couple get married in 2008 after girl runs away from ‘abusive’ husband
On Oct 17, 2009, friend invites couple for Diwali celebrations where girl’s family allegedly locks her up, murders Virender



New Delhi: A case of kidnapping was lodged against Virender — who married Shruti despite being from the same gotra — by the Sonepat police and he was arrested and sent to jail. In January 2007, even as Virender was in jail, Shruti was forcibly married to Jaipal, from Teli Khera village near Jind in Haryana. Jaipal began to abuse her when he came to know of her past and Shruti lodged a case with the Jind police. But no action was taken and a desperate Shruti contacted Virender who was out on bail.
The couple decided to reunite and Shruti left Jaipal to set up home with Virender in Samaipur Badli in outer Delhi. On August 8, 2008, they got married in a temple in Chandigarh.




Girl raped by her relatives
‘‘They shifted to Samalkha in Haryana after her father traced them in Samaipur Badli and threatened to kill Virender,’’ said an investigating officer. Meanwhile, angered by his ‘‘wife’s boldness’’, Jaipal lodged a kidnapping case against Virender with the Jind police. ‘‘Fearing that they might be arrested again, the couple contacted the district collector’s office in Jind and clarified that they had married of their own free will.’’
That didn’t help, though. The couple were arrested and Virender, who was working
with a food company by then, was sent to jail again.
‘‘The girl refused to go back to her father’s place, fearing she would be killed, and stayed at the local Nari Niketan. All through Virender’s trial, she maintained that she had gone with him of her own accord. The case was dismissed and Virender was freed,’’ said DCP Katiyar.
On October 17, Virender was invited by his friend Inderjeet to spend Diwali at Sandeep’s house in Narela. The couple accepted, unaware that Sandeep would also be present.Around 10.30pm on that day, Shruti’s father, an ex-serviceman currently employed as a security officer, reached the house with his son and nephew and beat up Virender before allegedly strangling him to death.
‘‘Shruti was allegedly raped by Sandeep and Inderjeet in another room. Sandeep carried the body in his van and dumped it in a canal after tying a stone around the neck. The girl was kept confined in a room in Narela and threatened to return to Jind or face death,’’ said Katiyar. Police are now investigating the role of other family members in the incident. ‘‘Her first husband, Jaipal, is under the scanner too. The girl is still under severe trauma and we are providing counselling to her,’’ added the DCP.