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Woman's ‘save me’ text to boyfriend, then murder: Father held in ‘honour killing’ in Gujarat
The woman moved to Palanpur town to prepare for the all-India medical entrance exam and reportedly entered a live-in relationship with a man during that time.
An 18-year-old woman from Banaskantha district in Gujarat allegedly sent a chilling “save me” message to her live-in partner before being killed in what police suspect was an honour killing.
The woman, who had been in a relationship her father and uncle disapproved of, was allegedly strangled at her uncle’s house on June 24, with her last rites performed the next morning to conceal the crime, news agency PTI quoted officials as saying.
She had moved to Palanpur town to prepare for the all-India medical entrance exam and reportedly entered a live-in relationship with a man during that time.
According to the FIR cited by PTI, Haresh Chaudhary, who is already married and has a son, fell in love with the girl after giving her a lift from Tharad town to Palanpur. It remains unclear if he had disclosed his marital status to her.
In May, the couple eloped to Ahmedabad, signing a formal agreement for a live-in relationship, and later travelled to Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. On June 12, a Tharad police team and a relative tracked them to a hotel in Rajasthan.
The girl was handed to her uncle Shivrambhai, while Chaudhary was arrested in an old Kutch district case under the Prohibition Act.
‘Save me’ messages ignored as boyfriend was incarcerated
After his release on June 21, Chaudhary discovered that the girl had messaged him twice on Instagram on June 17, expressing fear that her family might kill her or force her into marriage. “He couldn’t read her messages earlier since he was in jail,” Nala said.
A lawyer filed a habeas corpus petition in the Gujarat high court seeking her production before the court. However, on June 25, two days before the hearing, Chaudhary learnt that she had died on the night of June 24 and her last rites had been performed the next morning.
FIR filed after complaint from live-in partner
Based on a complaint by her live-in partner, Haresh Chaudhary, the Tharad police booked the girl’s father, Sendhabhai Patel, and uncle Shivrambhai Patel for murder on August 6, Nala said. The accused were reportedly against the relationship.
After registering the FIR, police arrested Shivrambhai and later added Naran Patel, a cousin of the father and uncle, as a co-accused. “We arrested Naran Patel on Tuesday. He is a cousin of Shivrambhai and Sendhabhai, who is still absconding,” Nala said.
According to the FIR, her father and uncle decided to kill her fearing she might elope again with Chaudhary. “When the girl was at Shivrambhai’s house at Dantiya village in Tharad on the night of June 24, she was offered milk containing sleeping pills. When she fell unconscious, the duo strangled her and performed her last rites the next morning to hide their crime,” said Nala.
Gujarat girl had cleared NEET
According to the report, she had also cleared the highly competitive National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), police said on Wednesday.
“She had given NEET a few months back, but it is still unclear if she wanted to become a doctor or a nurse. As per the results announced recently, she has cleared the test with good marks,” said Danta division Assistant Superintendent of Police Suman Nala.
(With PTI inputs)
