The victim’s final journey, in Rohtak Saturday. (Express photo)
Three days after she was shot dead and four of her relatives were arrested, an 18-year-old Jat woman from Rohtak was cremated on Saturday evening.
The woman was shot dead outside a district court where she had gone to appear in connection with a case against Sombir, a Dalit, who she married last year. It is alleged that her relatives got her killed for eloping with and marrying a man from a lower caste.
The woman was cremated by strangers. With her relatives refusing to do it, her husband lodged in prison, and his family fearful of coming into the open, the district administration and the Haryana State Commission for Women (HSCW) together completed the task.
“With both families refusing to do the last rites over the past three days, the woman was cremated by the district administration this evening,” said Shamsher Singh, PRO of Rohtak police.
In a press release, the Commission recommended deliberation on a specific law for honour killing. The girl’s biological parents, as well as her aunt and uncle, who had adopted her, were arrested on Friday, with the police saying they had confessed to plotting her murder along with one of her cousins because they disapproved of her marriage to Sombir.
“Haryana State Commission for Women humbly appeals and strongly recommends to the government to consider making honour killing a specific crime and a special law on honour killing should be drafted and deliberated on,” states the release. “This Commission also appeals to all inhabitants of our state, irrespective of your caste, colour and creed, to practise restraint and follow the law of land and practise unconditional love and acceptance,” it adds.