http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/south_asia/10316249.stm
Delhi police make arrests after 'honour killing'
Page last updated at 12:29 GMT, Tuesday, 15 June 2010 13:29 UK
Caste leaders frown upon marriages within the same sub-caste Police in
the Indian capital, Delhi, say a teenage girl and her boyfriend have
been murdered in what they suspect is a gruesome case of "honour
killing".
Aisha Saini and Yogesh Kumar, both 19, were beaten with metal rods and
then electrocuted, police say. The girl's father and uncle have been
arrested.
According to police, the girl's family disapproved of the relationship
because Mr Kumar was from another caste.
Cases of suspected "honour killing" are rare in the Indian capital.
Correspondents say the killings - long a taboo subject in India - are
now being reported more often. There have been a number of recent
cases in regions near Delhi.
'Bleeding'
The couple's mutilated bodies were recovered early on Monday after
neighbours complained of a foul smell emanating from the uncle's house
in Swaroop Nagar area in north-west Delhi.
"When we found the bodies - the couple's legs and hands were tied and
they were bleeding," Delhi's deputy police commissioner NS Bundela
told a news conference.
"The couple had been electrocuted as well, but we will wait for the
full post-mortem report."
He said the girl's father and uncle had been arrested "but three
suspects still remain at bay".
Police say Ms Saini's family feared she would elope with Mr Kumar and
he was called to her uncle's home on Sunday on the pretext of
discussing the relationship.
According to the Hindustan Times, neighbours went to the house but
were told that a family matter was being discussed.
A police official quoted in the newspaper said the assault went on for hours.
The couple were beaten with "iron rods and other blunt weapons" before
being forced to sit on iron trunks to which live wires were attached
and they were electrocuted.
"This is a barbaric act of violence and should be condemned. It is my
duty to get the perpetrators punished," Delhi's Women and Child
Development Minister Kiran Walia said.
So-called "honour killings" are fairly common in parts of northern
India, but rarely heard of in the Indian capital.
In April, five men were sentenced to death and one jailed for life
over the 2007 murder of a young couple who married against the wishes
of village elders in Haryana state, not far from Delhi.
Elders said they had violated local customs by marrying within the
same sub-caste.
Social activists say many young men and women die every year in
northern states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Some commit suicide, others are killed - often with the approval,
tacit or otherwise, of village councils that still wield considerable
power.
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