BHOPAL: Two suspected cases of ‘honour killing’ were reported from Morena and Betul districts in Madhya Pradesh.
In the Morena district, a Class XI girl was allegedly shot dead at point-blank range for being in a relationship with a youth from another caste. In a separate incident in Betul district, a man who had eloped with a married woman was beaten to death by her relatives, including her husband.
Both incidents occurred on June 16. The accused in the two cases were arrested on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
In the Jaura area of the Gwalior-Chambal region’s Morena district, a 19-year-old Class XI student, Malishka, was allegedly shot dead on the night of June 16. Her grandfather, Sirnam Singh, initially claimed that she had been killed by four armed men who stopped her while she was returning home with her parents from her maternal uncle’s village.
Singh alleged that the murder was the result of a land dispute with another family in their village. However, police investigations revealed inconsistencies in his statement. The teenager had been shot three times in the head from point-blank range.
Upon sustained questioning, it was revealed that Sirnam Singh himself was behind Malishka’s killing. According to the police, Malishka had previously been in a relationship with a distant relative but later fell in love with a youth from another caste in the same village.
This relationship was not accepted by her grandfather Sirnam Singh or the youth’s father, Naresh Tyagi. Both men allegedly planned and executed the honour killing on the night of June 16. They are currently in police custody.
In Betul district in central Madhya Pradesh, a youth identified as Raja Ghorpade was allegedly beaten to death by members of the family of a married woman with whom he had eloped in May 2025.
On May 4, Sangita Nagle, a married woman, eloped to Gujarat with her alleged lover, Raja Ghorpade, along with her five-year-old daughter. She had reportedly been facing frequent quarrels with her husband, Baldev.
After the couple eloped, Sangita’s family reached out to her and convinced her to return, assuring her that they would help her legally separate from Baldev.
Trusting their promise, Sangita returned to Betul with Raja and her daughter. However, on June 16, while they were returning by bus, her husband and other family members intercepted the vehicle.
Sangita’s husband, nine other men, and her sister-in-law then assaulted Raja Ghorpade brutally, leaving him unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital by police but was declared dead by doctors.
Following the incident, the Betul district police arrested all eleven accused involved in the assault. The arrested include Sangita’s husband Baldev Nagle, his brother Summy Nagle, eight other men, and her sister-in-law Sonam Nagle.