Police in western Uttar Pradesh’s Hathras district exhumed the body of a 24-year-old woman after a video, in which she said that her family might kill her because she wanted to marry against their wishes, went viral on social media.
Authorities have registered a case against the woman’s family members, who are absconding, after the video surfaced online amid allegations that she is a victim of honour killing.
Rizwana (name changed) shot the video in what looks like a train toilet saying she wants to marry her maternal cousin Imran but her parents and brothers are against the match. She says that she was being taken to Sikandra Rao from Mumbai to stop her from marrying Imran and they might kill her.
Rizwana, who lived in Mumbai with her family, adds that there is a threat to her life from her father Yasin, brother Akram, Pahalwan, Ishak Nabi and some other relatives.
She was found dead under mysterious circumstances on August 18 in Naurangabad locality in Sikandra Rao. She was buried by her family the next day.
Locals said police allegedly did not take any action despite the newspapers publishing a report about the video. Sources claimed that locals also alerted Sikandra Rao SO Ganga Prasad but he did nothing.
{{/usCountry}}Locals said police allegedly did not take any action despite the newspapers publishing a report about the video. Sources claimed that locals also alerted Sikandra Rao SO Ganga Prasad but he did nothing.
{{/usCountry}}It was only after senior officers intervened that a case was registered under the relevant sections of the India Penal Code. Police registered the case against the woman’s family members on the basis of a complaint lodged by Sabir, a watchman in the area where the family lives.
“The body of the girl has been sent for post-mortem and police have been deployed at the graveyard so that the grave is not touched by anybody,” additional superintendent of police Ram Murat Yadav told HT.
“At the time of the girl’s death, the family claimed she died due to stomach ache. However, a video has exposed the entire conspiracy after it became viral on social sites. The video was shot on a train by the girl while she was being taken to Sikandra Rao from Mumbai. Now, police have started investigations after registering the case,” Yadav added.