Two taken into custody for justifying honour killings

An uncle and a friend of the accused in suspected serial honour killings case, who allegedly gave provocative statements justifying the murders, were today taken into preventive custody.

An uncle and a friend of the accused in suspected serial honour killings case, who allegedly gave provocative statements justifying the murders, were today taken into preventive custody.

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"We have taken them into preventive custody under Sections 107 (Security for keeping peace in the other cases) and 151 (arrest to prevent the commission of cognizable offence) of the Cr PC," DCP (north-west) N S Bundela said here.

This has been done to maintain peace as there were apprehensions that their statements might instigate others, another police official said.

Talking to reporters yesterday, accused Mandeep Nagar's uncle Dharmaveer Nagar and a friend Nitin justified the killing of Monica, her husband Kuldeep and her cousin Shobha.

"This (killing) is not at all wrong. What is wrong in it? Murder is wrong but this (killing) is socially the best thing that has been done. This cannot be termed as wrong," Nagar had said.

"It (inter-community marriages) will break our society, bring down self-confidence.... I would say that the youths have done the best thing (by killing Monica, Kuldeep and Shobha). This will send a message in society," he added.

Speaking in same vein, Nitin too told reporters that he was in support of the killing.

Cash rewards of Rs 50,000 each were yesterday announced by the Delhi Police for anyone providing information about the suspects Mandeep (23), Ankit (22) and Nakul (21).

Meanwhile, police have detained a person who is suspected to have had supplied arms to the suspects for allegedly carrying out the killings.

"We are questioning him along with several others in connection with the case," a senior police officer said.

Monica, 24, and Kuldeep, 26, were murdered on Sunday allegedly by her brother Ankit and cousin Mandeep for marrying in another caste. Police on Tuesday recovered the body of 22-year-old Shobha, Mandeep's sister who too had eloped with a man belonging to a different caste.