A couple in India was brutally murdered in the name of honor. Police in India said Thursday that a young couple had run off to elope and the woman's family tracked them down. The 20-year old woman Nidhi Barak and her 22-year-old husband Dharmender Barak were slain in an honor killing. The girl's mother, father and uncle are now in police custody. After the woman's family found the newlyweds they dragged the couple back to their village in the Rohtak District. The couple had left for the capital where they eloped.
The couple was found by Nidhi's family on Tuesday in Delhi. Neither Nidhi's nor Dharmender's family approved of their relationship. The couple had been together for three years. Delhi was studying to become an art teacher and Dharmender was persuing a technical degree from a local college. On Wednesday night the couple was murdered by angry family members who believed the killing was justified since both Nidhi and Dharmender had sinned and betrayed their family honor. Nidhi is said to have been beaten to death while her husband was assaulted with sticks and then decapitated.
The woman's family is said to have tried to burn her body but were stopped by police. In a phone interview with AFP the police chief working on the case said, "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 honor killing but the murder was not approved by society."
A women's group in India, the All India Democratic Women's Association released a statement expressing their outrage over the killings. They said the act was reminiscent of the medieval period and continue to go unpunished. According the International Business Times the woman's father told police he feels no regret for murdering his daughter. "I have no regrets. I'll do it again, if I have to," the man reportedly said. The dead woman's aunt also made a statement saying, "What happened was wrong, but if a father took such a big step there must be a reason."
Honor killings in India remain widespread across the country. They are typically the result of two young people marrying without parental consent into different castes or religions. These killings take place in more rural areas and there is no exact number as to how many honor killings occur in India each year. In 2011 the Indian Supreme Court announced that those who kill for honor should face the death penalty. "It is time to stamp out these barbaric, feudal practices which are a slur on our nation," the court said.
More From Latin Times
Delhi Gang Rape: 4 Men Sentenced To Death In India After Fatal Gang Rape Of Woman Last Year [VIDEO]
American Gang Raped India: 30-Year-Old American Woman Gang Raped In Manali, Police Say [VIDEO]
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
