‘Honour killing’: Girl’s father, brother held

Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, September 18

Police investigation has revealed that Priyanka, the class XI girl of Bahalba village in the district who died under mysterious circumstances on Sunday, had been killed by her father and juvenile brother.

The police have arrested the girl’s father Prahlad and detained her brother.

Rohtak SP Jashandeep Singh Randhawa said the girl was in a relationship that was not acceptable to her family. So, they murdered her and took the body for cremation to destroy the evidence.

“The girl was forced to consume poison and then, strangled to death. As per our investigation, Priyanka’s father and brother executed the murder,” he said.

SHO (Meham) Kuldeep Singh stated that the post-mortem report of the girl had not mentioned the cause of death and the viscera had been sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory at Sunaria to ascertain the cause of death.

An anonymous caller informed the police on Sunday that Priyanka’s family members had killed her and taken the body for cremation.

A police party, accompanied by a team of Fire Department officials, was immediately rushed to the cremation ground where they got the cremation stopped amidst a scuffle with the girl’s family members and fellow villagers.

The half-burnt body of the girl was removed from the pyre after dousing the fire and sent for a post-mortem examination. The police registered a case under Sections 302, 201 and 34 of the IPC against the family members of the girl on the basis of a complaint lodged by a Security Agent (SA) posted at the Meham police station.

Meanwhile, Priyanka’s parents have denied the allegations of honour killing or murder, stating that the girl had complained of chest pain and vomiting on Saturday. “We were taking her to the PGIMS for treatment, but she died on the way,” they claimed.