Daijiworld Media Network - Aligarh
Aligarh, Jul 26: A 20-year-old law student was allegedly killed by her family in a suspected case of honour killing in Uttar Pradesh's Aligarh district after she refused to end her relationship with a young man from another caste. Five members of her family have been arrested in connection with the incident.
The case came to light after the woman's boyfriend, Harshit, approached the police on Friday with a written complaint alleging that her family had killed her.
According to the complaint, the family claimed that the woman, identified as Himanshi, had died due to illness and cremated her on Thursday night before the authorities were informed.
Acting on the complaint, police launched an investigation and arrested five members of the family on homicide charges. Those arrested include Himanshi's mother, her two brothers and two maternal uncles, Senior Superintendent of Police Neeraj Kumar said.
Harshit told police that he and Himanshi had been in a relationship for nearly one-and-a-half years and that her family had strongly opposed their relationship because they belonged to different castes.
He also alleged that both of them had received repeated death threats from Himanshi's family.
A CCTV video related to the incident has also surfaced. According to reports, the footage shows Himanshi leaving her home and reaching a nearby shop where Harshit was waiting. Shortly afterwards, several of her family members allegedly arrived at the spot and assaulted the couple.
Demanding justice for Himanshi, Harshit said he now fears for his own safety.
Police said further investigation into the case is underway.