Haryana folk singer was killed by brother-in-law’s associates: Cops

Dinesh Karala in police custody on Friday. Express

Haryana police on Friday said that Haryanvi folk singer and dancer Harshita Dahiya was murdered on Tuesday evening by four associates of her brother-in-law and gangster Dinesh Karala on the latter’s instructions.
Panipat SP Rahul Sharma said Dinesh Karala admitted to the murder conspiracy during police interrogation after he was brought from Jhajjar jail on a production warrant on Thursday. The police produced Karala before the court which sent him to four-day police remand.

In her statement to the police, Harshita’s sister Lata had alleged that she got married to Dinesh of Delhi’s Karala village in 2012 but came to her parents house at Delhi’s Narela area after a dispute between the couple.
She further alleged that her husband raped Harshita in 2014 and a case was registered at Delhi’s Kanjhawala police station on the complaint of her mother Premo Devi. Premo Devi was shot dead on December 17, 2014, at her house in Narela and a case was registered against Karala on the basis of Harshita’s statement. Lata alleged that Harshita was the prime witness in both the cases and Karala was putting pressure on her not to make a statement before the court.

“Dinesh got her killed to prevent her from recording her evidence in court,” Sharma said.
According to the police, Dinesh has revealed the names of his four accomplices who killed Harshita but they “could not be disclosed at the moment”.

Police teams are conducting searches at various places to nab them, the SP said. “Dinesh is a notorious gangster. Twelve criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder and dacoity, have been registered against him in Sonipat, Jind, Jhajjar and Delhi,” Sharma said.