India’s Shame: Yamuna Expressway murder is a grim reminder of ‘honour’ killings in the country

While the country still grapples with the gruesome details that keep emerging from the Shraddha Walkar murder case, the Uttar Pradesh Police has solved the case of a woman’s body found stuffed in a suitcase near the Yamuna Expressway in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura four days ago. The cops have arrested the woman’s parents in the crime, in what they have described as an ‘honour killing’.According to the authorities, the body of a 21-year-old woman was found stuff in a travel bag on 18 November and she was shot dead allegedly by her family as they weren’t happy as she had married without their approval. The cops added that the woman’s mother was aware of the killing and even helped the father in disposing the body along the Yamuna Expressway.“The woman, Ayushi, had a fight with her father on 17 November. She had got married to a man of her choice because of which her family was unhappy. Enraged over this, her father had shot her twice on 17 November after the argument,” acting Senior Superintendent of Police Martand Prakash Singh said.Ayushi’s mother, Brajbala Yadav, then helped Nitesh Yadav in stuffing the body in a suitcase and accompanied him to dump the body on a service road in Raya near the Vrindavan cut along the Expressway, some 150 km away from their Badapur home.“The victim’s father Nitesh Yadav and mother Brajbala Yadav have been arrested and sent to jail. They have been booked under Sections 302 (punishment for murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information, to screen offender) of the IPC,” Acting Senior Superintendent of Police Martand Prakash Singh said.“Brajbala Yadav may not have shot her daughter, but she was involved in disposing of the body and had accompanied her husband to Mathura in a car,” he added.The murder of Ayushi has once again thrown the spotlight on honour killings in the country. Let’s take a closer look at the issue and the horrific cases that questioned our belief that ‘love conquers all’.Honour killings in India‘Hamare ghar ki izzat’ is the root cause of this heinous crime — killing for honour, a death that is awarded to the women or men by their own family members for marrying against their wishes or having a pre-marital relationship, marrying within the same gotra or marrying outside their caste.Human Rights Watch defines honour killings as “acts of violence, usually murder, committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonour upon the family by being romantically involved with or choosing to marry men outside their caste, class or religion.According to activist Kathir Vincent, director of Evidence — an NGO working to protect the human rights of Dalit and Tribal people in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry — women constitute almost 97 percent of honour killing victims.Also read: 'Honour killing' in Kerala: Kevin-Neenu case indicative of a bigger, more frightening trendHonour killings are also under reported in the country, as relatives destroy any evidence to the contrary or as Vincent said to The Swaddle they are treated as homicides by the police, or as atrocities against scheduled castes and tribes, since lower-caste men who are involved with upper-caste women are the next-most vulnerable group to honour killings.As per the information published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), there were 33 cases of honour killings across the country in 2021, with Jharkhand and Punjab recording the maximum cases — eight each.NCRB data reveals that in 2020 there were a total of 25 such cases while in 2019 there were 24 such instances recorded. In 2018 and the preceding year (2017), the country saw a total of 29 and 92 cases respectively. In 2016, 2015 and 2014, there were 77, 251 and 28 cases recorded respectively.[caption id="attachment_11671001" align="alignnone" width="640"]

The cases of honour killings in India since 2014. Graphic: Pranay Bhardwaj[/caption]The infamous killings that rocked IndiaIn March 2021, a father murdered his 19-year-old daughter for eloping with her Dalit paramour in Rajasthan’s Dausa district. Three months later in July, news emerged that a 17-year-old Dalit boy’s genitals had been cut off by the family of the Brahmin girl he was dating in Muzaffarpur.December of last year also saw a 17-year-old boy beheading his 19-year-old sister for marrying a man of her choice in Aurangabad’s Ladgaon village.The Udumalpet honour killing case of 2016 shocked the nation to its core. Twenty-two-year-old Shankar was killed in a busy market in Tamil Nadu’s Udumalpet for marrying Kausalya, a woman from the region’s dominant Thevar caste. Their marriage had been strongly opposed by Kausalya’s parents, who hired killers to eliminate the young couple. When the couple was walking near Udumalpet Town bus stand, they were brutally attacked by a three-member gang. Shankar died on the spot, while Kausalya survived with minor injuries.Also read: In Tamil Nadu, anatomy of a caste crime: Families devastated by honour killings speak of the scourgePrior to the Udumalpet case, another horrific honour killing that made headlines across the country was that of Deepti Chhikara in June 2012. The young woman, a school teacher, was strangled to death by her mother Birmati and brother Mohit, and later her uncle Amit helped the duo in disposing of the body in Uttarakhand.It later emerged that Deepti had wanted to marry one Lalit Vats, but her family was opposed to the match as he was from a different caste. Deepti was allegedly killed in April but her family didn’t register any complaint. It was Lalit who alerted the police to the fact that Deepti had been missing since she went to her maternal home.In 2010, Monica and Kuldeep, along with Monica’s sister Shobha were killed by their family members in Delhi. Monica had married Kuldeep, who was a Rajput boy, and their families did not approve of the alliance. Both of them belonged to the Wazipur village of Delhi. Shobha on the other hand was involved in a relationship with a boy belonging to another caste and had reportedly helped her sister elope.According to an IBN-Live report, the three accused —Ankit Chaudary, Mandeep Nagar and Nakul Khari — had claimed that “there was a lot of pressure on them and that’s why they did this (murder).”At the time of the murder, the family had shockingly justified the killing and Dharamveer Nagar, the uncle of Mandeep and co-accused Ankit, had said that the killings were necessary to uphold the family’s honour. Ankit was Monica’s brother, while Mandeep was Shobha’s brother.Another honour killing case in 2010 was when 19-year-old Asha Saini and her boyfriend Yogesh, 20, were tortured, electrocuted and beaten to death by the girl’s family in Delhi’s Swarup Nagar.According to a report published by Rediff.com, the girl’s family had disapproved of her relationship with Yogesh, a driver. The couple was tortured in a flat owned by Asha’s uncle Omprakash and even neighbours who heard the couple wailing for hours and begging for help didn’t step in to help. Allegedly the family threatened the neighbours and told them to “mind their own business,” said the Rediff report.In May of the same year, Nirupama Pathak, who was working as journalist with a business daily in Delhi, was murdered by her family in Jharkhand because she was in a relationship with a man from a lower caste.It was reported that Nirupama was dating Priyabhanshu Ranjan, a colleague and friend, and the two were planning to marry in an Arya Samaj mandir. While her mother called it a case of suicide, a post-mortem revealed that the journalist was smothered to death and that she was 10-12 weeks pregnant at the time of her murder. Nirupama’s mother was arrested but later the court set her free as the police found a suicide note signed by Nirupama.Perhaps, the most infamous honour killing in India. A business executive and son of an IAS officer, Nitish Katara was murdered on 17 February 2002 by Vikas Yadav, the son of Uttar Pradesh politician DP Yadav.Nitish had been in a relationship with DP Yadav’s daughter Bharti Yadav for a long time and the girl’s family did not approve of the relationship.Nitish’s body was later found on a highway and it was stated that he had been battered to death with a hammer, following which diesel was poured on him and he was set on fire. The murder was committed by Vikas (Bharti’s real brother) and Vishal Yadav (Bharti’s cousin brother), and Sukhdev Pehalwan (a hired contract killer).While the Supreme Court had awarded a 25-year jail term without any benefit of remission to Vikas Yadav and his cousin Vishal for their role in the crime, Sukhdev Pehalwan was handed down a 20-year jail term in the case.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. 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