By Faisal Fareed, TwoCircles.net,
Lucknow: Honour killing claimed lives of three girls including two sisters in two separate incidents during past 24 hours in the western region of Uttar Pradesh. In the first incident two sisters were killed by their brother in Saharanpur while a couple was lynched in Muzaffarnagar killing the girl while the lover is critical condition.
As per reports, two sisters were shot dead by their brother in Badgaon village of Saharanpur on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Naghma (20) and Jiya (18), the daughters of Sardar Khan. Both of them returned to their home after visiting their neighbour. They were confronted by their brother Nadeem in the courtyard of their house. He quizzed them about the reason for their outing. Soon a heated debate ensued followed by a minor scuffle. In a fit of rage Nadeem took out a country made pistol and shot dead Nagma when the younger one Jiya tried to intervene and snatch the firearm. He also shot her dead before fleeing from the scene. Police reached the scene and arrested Nadeem’s younger brother for interrogation. SSP Deepak Ratan informed newsmen that Naghma had an affair with his neighbour named Rosa which was objected by Nadeem.
It has been reported that Naghma was having an affair with Roshi, the son of Ikram of the same village. Ikram even had presented her a mobile phone and the couple always remained in touch. Both had even planned to get married and moved an application in this regard with the district court. A notice in this regard from the court has reached to Naghma’s father which led to tension in the family. A panchayat in this regard was also held at the village but it failed to arrive at any conclusion. Naghma’s father Sardar Khan who had himself informed the police about the murder stated that the affair was known to every one in the village and his son Nadeem often confronted his sister over her act.
In the second incident at Muzaffarnagar, one Hamza of village Paldi had an affair with Tahira of the same village. On Saturday night both of them eloped and took shelter in a mosque at village Shauram. The mohtamim of the mosque Ameeuddin informed the family members of Tahira about the incident. During late night, Tahira’s uncles both from maternal and paternal side reached the mosque and took both of them. In the morning of Sunday, villagers in another adjoining hamlet, Mubarikpur found the couple lying in a pool of blood at the outskirts. Information was given to police and both of them were admitted to the district hospital. However their condition deteriorated and they were referred to Subharti Medical College in Meerut. Tahira died during treatment while her lover Hamza is battling for his life.
Such honour killings have become a common in western region of the state. Even the Muslims in the area strictly adhere to caste lines and any deviation from the age old customs results in killing.