Man held for daughter's murder in Bhiwani

In a case of honour killing, a 21-year-old woman, who married against her parents' wishes last month, was allegedly murdered at her native village, Serla, under Behal block, 50km from Bhiwani town, on Thursday.

In a case of honour killing, a 21-year-old woman, who married against her parents' wishes last month, was allegedly murdered at her native village, Serla, under Behal block, 50km from Bhiwani town, on Thursday.

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The victim, Shashi Dhankhar, was reportedly strangled to death. Her father, Satpal Kumar Dhankhar (58), who retired as an army subedar, was arrested on Friday under sections 302 (murder) and 201 (disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The case was registered on the complaint of the victim's husband, Gautam Kumar (23).

Shashi had reportedly fallen in love with Gautam, a resident of Khapadwas, while pursuing graduation (BA-3) from a Hisar-based college. Both belonged to the Jat community, but their parents were against love marriage. They had eloped and got married at the Arya Samaj temple in Bahadurgarh (Jhajjar district) on February 28.

Sources said the couple had been living at Hisar for the past month. About a week ago, Shashi's father took her to their native village with her husband's consent. The accused was spotted with his daughter near a bank in Behal town, where he withdrew Rs 2 lakh from her account. The amount had been deposited by him earlier for the purpose of his daughter's marriage.

Confirming the honour killing, Loharu deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Suresh Kumar Hooda said, "The victim's father was unhappy over her decision to marry against the family's wishes. He believed that love marriage would bring disrepute to the family."