A couple, who were on their way to get married in a court, were shot dead in broad daylight by girl’s uncle and his aides near Maharshi Dayanand University (MDU) here on Wednesday, said police.
The deceased have been identified as Pooja Pawaria, 27, and Rohit Dhankar, 25, of Rohtak. Rohit’s brother Mohit was also injured in the firing. He is undergoing treatment at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (PGIMS) and is stable.
DSP Sajan Singh said girl’s uncle Kuldeep Singh, his son Kapil Kumar and two other persons have been arrested on complaint of boy’s father. They have been booked under sections 302 (murder), 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC and section 25 of the arms Act.
“We are interrogating the accused. Prima facie, it appears to be a case of hate crime. We are looking into all angles,” the DSP added.
A police official said Pooja was a divorcee. “She was an orphan and raised by her uncle Kuldeep, a property dealer. She was staying in Rohtak for the past many months and had developed a relationship with Rohit,” he added.
As per boy’s father, Kuldeep had called Rohit’s relatives to the court today for their marriage, said the DSP. “Later, he asked the groom’s relatives to come near MDU as they wanted to hold some discussion before the marriage. When Rohit and his family reached near MDU, Kuldeep opened fire at Mohit’s car,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}As per boy’s father, Kuldeep had called Rohit’s relatives to the court today for their marriage, said the DSP. “Later, he asked the groom’s relatives to come near MDU as they wanted to hold some discussion before the marriage. When Rohit and his family reached near MDU, Kuldeep opened fire at Mohit’s car,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Kuldeep’s son and his aides pumped bullets into Pooja, who was in a different car, killing her on the spot,” added the DSP
The police have retrieved a CCTV footage of the incident. The DSP said the woman’s body was recovered from the back seat of the car while Rohit and his brother Mohit were rushed to the PGIMS where Rohit was declared brought dead.