HISAR: In a suspected case of honour killing, a newly married couple was shot dead by some assailants in a park in Hansi town of Hisar district on Monday morning.
Tejvir Singh (28) of Badala village and his wife Meena (25), who hailed from Sultanpur village in the district, were gunned down in Lala Hukamchand Jain Park near the railway station in Hansi town.
An eyewitness told the police that the assailants had some discussion with the couple before opening fire on them from a close range.
Tejvir and Meena had tied the knot around two months ago after around two years of courtship. After the marriage, they stayed in a government safe house under police custody in Hisar town for three days. Subsequently, they started living in Noida where Tejvir worked in a private firm. The couple came to Tejvir’s house at Badala village about 12 days ago, sources said.
Tejvir’s cousin Ajay told The Tribune that Tejvir got a call from some acquaintance who asked him to come to Hansi to sort out the differences as regards their marriage. “As he was scheduled to return to Noida to re-join his duty, so he took his wife along,” he said. Another family member said Tejvir and Meena, both graduates, had met at a common relative’s house at Sisay village. Meena’s family was reportedly averse to the relationship,” he said.
“The girl’s family felt their daughter had dented the family’s honour by eloping from the house,” a Sultanpur resident said.
A police official said the incident seemed to be the fallout of a false sense of “honour” of the family of a woman who had dared to marry a person of her choice despite disapproval by her family.
“Some panchayat meetings were held to resolve the issue between the two families. Meena’s family members had been insisting that the couple should visit them. The couple, however, had been avoiding a visit to Meena’s maternal home as they were apprehensive about their intentions,” said a police official probing the case.
The police said Tejvir’s father Mehtab Singh is a small farmer. He has named 11 persons, including the Meena’s father Subhash, brother Sachin, uncle Mangtu, besides other relatives Virender, Sanjay, Satish, Guddi, Ravinder, Jai Singh, Lila and Rahul in the complaint.
Hansi SP Maqsood Ahmad said they had booked the accused under Sections 302, 506, 147, 149 and 120B of the IPC and various provisions of the Arms Act. The police had taken some persons in custody for interrogation. Those named in the FIR were on the run, but they would be arrested soon, the SP added.