In a suspected honour killing, a man was stoned to death allegedly by his girlfriend’s father and brothers in a Jharkhand village on Tuesday night.
The Taliban-style killing at Kadma Basti on the outskirts of Jamshedpur occurred within a week of Congress legislator Sawna Lakra being jailed on charges of killing a non-tribal man for an alleged affair with his granddaughter.
Police recovered the body of Shyam Murmu, 26, on Wednesday. Police said Murmu and his girlfriend Angel Ahla Baske, 24, were seen together near her village on the day of the murder. Baske and her family are missing.
Deputy superintendent of police Kanhaiyya Upadhyay said, “The two were in love and met each other against the wishes of the girl’s family.” He said Baske, an educated girl, recently contested the panchayat polls for district counsellor post.
Murmu’s father in his FIR alleged Baske’s father and brothers killed his son. Jharkhand’s tribal heartlands are known for honour killings, also commonplace in Haryana, western UP and Rajasthan.
Studies suggest as many as 900 murders are committed in India every year in the name of preserving family honour.