Disgrace to state: Haryana trembles once again with three ‘Honor Killings’ after a relative calm

JIND: In a disturbing turn of events, Haryana has been shaken by three incidents of honor killings frequently, highlighting the persistent issue of such crimes in the state. These tragic cases occurred after a period of relative calm, raising concerns about societal attitudes towards family honor and individual rights in the agrarian state. These incidents have sparked outrage and calls for stricter enforcement of laws against honor killings.
In a recent instance, a young woman Komal (20), hailing from Gurjar community was killed by her 17-year-old teen brother on June 19 who was angry with her love marriage with a scheduled caste boy in Kaithal district.He shot her dead by pumping a bullet in her neck besides critically injuring her sister’s mother-in-law Kanta and sister-in-law Anjali. However, he has been sent to a juvenile home and his mother, allegedly involved in criminal conspiracy sent into judicial custody.
In the second instance that happened on June 3 but came into light on June 18 after police action, a 27-year-old Saravjeet Kaur of Nejadela Kalan village in Sirsa district was killed by her brother and father who were annoyed with her love affair with Karan of a nearby village. However, their castes were the same (Kamboj) but the girl's parents did not agree with her love and strangled her and plotted a fake story of a heart attack. They later confessed their crime before police under judicial custody. Reportedly, the boy's economic condition was not sound following which her parents did not agree to solemnise marriage with Karan and killed her.
On June 24, two months after they got married, a couple from Hisar district of Haryana — Tejbir (24) of Badala village and his wife Meena (22) of Sultanpur village was shot dead by two unidentified men in a suspected case of “honour killing” on Monday morning in a park of Hansi town. Tejbir and his wife Meena were distant relatives who were from the same caste (jat) but the girl's parents were angry with their marriage. Similarly, many incidents had happened in Haryana in Kaithal, Sonipat, Jind and other district in recent years but these three frequent incidents recalls infamous memories of such crimes against personal choice in the name of family honor
It recalls several infamous cases of Haryana including the Manoj and Babli honor killing case in the state, which occurred in 2007, is one of the most infamous and tragic instances of honor-based violence in India after they eloped and married. Manoj and Babli Banwala, childhood sweethearts from India's northern state of Haryana, were dragged from a bus by some of her male relatives, taken to a field near their village of Karora and murdered. Nineteen-year-old Babli was forced to drink pesticide by her brother. Manoj, 23, was garrotted by his bride's uncle. Their crime was to have married within the same or gotra in Karora village of Kaithal district.
Jind, Kaithal, Hisar, Sonipat, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Dadri districts have been considered as khapland in Haryana which were known for their diktats. Khaps (social clans) were being blamed for encouraging such heinous crimes in the state following which khap leaders had held numbers of panchayats urging people not to be involved in such crimes which bring infamous for all. However, now they have raised a fresh demand to add parents’ consent in love marriages or inter-caste marriages to stop honor killings in the state.
Samundar Phour, spokesperson of Jind based Majra khap said that khaps are not involved in honor killing as parents who are angry after their girls elope with anyone against their choice are involved in such incidents. Such incidents may be stopped only after consent of parents in love marriage is mandated by making a new law in India. Parents can't see their girl run away from home who has been nurtured by them for years therefore, crime belongs to the individual matter of any victim's parents and the government should think about this issue promptly, he added.
However social activists have condemned the killings, urging communities to abandon archaic practices and uphold the rule of law.