‘Honour killing’: UP girl killed by family, set on fire for eloping with youth

Police registered an FIR against nine members of the girl’s family on multiple charges, including murder.

A 16-year-old girl was allegedly assaulted and killed by her family, and her body set on fire, in Uttar Pradesh’s Kasganj after she eloped with a young man from her neighbourhood.

According to Kasganj Police, they received information on Sunday that a family was attempting to cremate a young girl to destroy evidence of her murder. A police team rushed to the village cremation ground and extinguished the pyre by pouring water on it. The remains were sent for post-mortem examination and its report is awaited, said the Station House Officer of the police station concerned.

According to police, the girl and the 19-year-old youth belonged to the same community and had allegedly been in a relationship for the past three years despite strong opposition from their families.

Police said the girl’s family had reportedly pressured her on several occasions to end the relationship, but she refused to do so. The man does odd jobs in Ludhiana and had returned home recently.

During a preliminary inquiry, police learnt that the girl had allegedly eloped with the youth on Friday (January 9). The girl’s family immediately began searching for her and, through a friend of the youth, came to know they were in Agra and were planning to get married.

Police said the family rushed to Agra, found the couple, and dragged them back to Kasganj. They confined the two in a house belonging to a relative of the girl, located outside the village.

Police said the family allegedly assaulted them, leading to the death of the girl. They decided to perform her last rites in the early hours of the morning in an attempt to destroy evidence of the murder.

Meanwhile, police said, the youth managed to escape, reached his village, and told his family about the incident. The police were then informed.

Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Kasganj, Sushil Kumar Ganga Prasad, said the youth is currently in police custody and is being questioned as part of the investigation. He added that three separate police teams have been formed to trace and arrest the girl’s family members.

Police said the houses of the girl’s parents and other close relatives were found locked.

Circle Officer (CO) Kasganj, Anchal Chauhan, said when the girl and the youth eloped, neither family approached the police and decided to look for them on their own.

As part of the investigation, police are examining call records of the girl and the youth to determine the duration and nature of their relationship and to establish a clearer timeline of events.