NEW DELHI: A 22-year-old woman was allegedly strangled to death by her family members for marrying a man outside her caste in Gurugram in a case of honour killing. The police said the chilling murder showed meticulous planning of six months by her parents and brother as the body was hurriedly cremated to hide the act.
The incident was reported from the Millenium City when the husband, Sandeep, of the victim, identified as Anjali, approached cops on August 17, saying his wife was possibly murdered by her own father, mother and brother. Anjali was a BSc student, who belonged to Surehti village in Jhajjar district.
Sandeep said that he married Anjali in December 2022 against the wishes of her parents. Since then they had been residing at Rauf Society in Sector 102, Gurugram. Later, Anjali’s brother and wife, too, came to stay with them. In his complaint to the police, Sandeep said he had gone to his sister’s house on August 17 morning while his wife and her brother were at the Gurugram flat.
In the afternoon, he got a call from a friend saying that Anjali had died and that her parents were cremating her body at her village Surhaiti in Jajjhar district.
“Sandeep rushed to his flat to find it was locked from outside. He learnt that his wife had been cremated. He contacted police and told them about his suspicion on the involvement of his in-laws and Anjali’s brother,” said a Gurugram police officer.
After a preliminary probe, the police lodged a case of murder. The accused — Kuldeep (44-year-old father), Rinki (42-year-old mother) and Kunal (20-year-old brother) — were arrested. During interrogation, the accused reportedly confessed to conspiring and killing Anjali and burning her body. It was also revealed that the murder was not committed in a fit of rage.
Brother told to keep an eye on sister
The victim’s brother was sent by his parents to live with her so that he could keep them posted about her, police said.