A 22-YEAR-OLD man and a 19-year-old woman died after they were set on fire allegedly by the brother of the girl and other family members in a suspected case of honour killing in Banda district, police said on Thursday.
The incident happened on Wednesday evening when Bhola and Priyanka were reportedly spotted by some neighbours at her house when her family members were away, police said. The police arrested four persons, including her parents and brother in connection with the case.
The arrested persons were identified as Hukum Singh, father of the woman, her mother Asha Devi, brother Devendra Kumar, and Lakkhu Kumar, a relative. Five other persons, also relatives of the woman, were booked in the case but are absconding. The police informed that the both the girl and the youth belonged to the same caste, which comes under the OBC category.
Banda Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mahendra P Chauhan said, “On Wednesday evening, the man had visited the woman’s house when her family members were not there. They were spotted by neighbours, who informed her family members. The family members returned to the house and locked the door from outside. Then, the man’s family members were called… who apologised and requested that the matter not be taken to the police. The woman’s family members, however, asked her to register a complaint with the police alleging that the man was harassing her. She refused. The girl’s brother was angered by this as he thought that the family honour would be affected. The brother then poured kerosene into the room that had a thatched roof and the two were set on fire.”
The man died at the district hospital, while the woman died on the way to a hospital in Kanpur after she was referred there.
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“The two were also distant relatives and the woman’s family had already fixed her marriage to someone else, but that was delayed due to the lockdown. After she refused to file a complaint against the man, her family feared that the marriage might be called off,” added the ASP.
