Honour killing: Girl strangulated, burnt and buried in Pali

Jodhpur: A 16-year-old girl was allegedly strangulated, burnt and buried in a village in Pali district of Rajasthan by her mother and uncle in a suspected case of honour killing, police said on Thursday.

The charred body of the girl was exhumed and sent for post-mortem examination while the accused mother Sita Devi and uncle Sawaram were arrested, they said.

“The incident took place on March 19 but came to light after more than a month following a tip-off from a police informer,” said Superintendent of Police (Pali) Rahul Kotoki.

“We have registered a case against the victim's mother and uncle and arrested them,” he added.

According to the officer, families of brothers Shesharam and Sawaram from village Sonai Majhi in Pali district had shifted to Pune long back where they owned a grocery shop.

The victim – Rinku was the daughter of Shesharam and in a relationship with a local boy in Pune with whom she had eloped about two months ago, Kotoki said.

“However, Rinku's family lodged a police complaint accusing the boy of kidnapping the girl following which the Mumbai Police held the couple at Dadar Railway Station.

The man was arrested but the girl, being a minor, was handed over to the family,” he said.

“A month later when the man got out on bail, Rinku insisted on marrying him but her family members refused and instead took her to their village in Rajasthan on March 18 on the pretext of visiting a local deity,” said the officer.

The following day, on March 19, they killed the girl and returned to Pune, Kotoki said, adding that the role of other family members is also being investigated.