Chandigarh , March 30: Five men who murdered a young couple to “preserve family honour” have been sentenced to death in a damning judicial verdict intended to deter the waywardness of Haryana’s self-styled “khap panchayats” (caste councils).
Pronouncing sentence over the 2007 murder of a recently-wed couple, Manoj, 23, and Babli, 19, who were brutally butchered by the bride’s family members for supposed violation of caste and kinship traditions after the local “khap panchayat” declared their marriage “illegal,” the additional district and sessions judge at Karnal, Vani Gopal Sharma, awarded the death penalty (by hanging) to five culprits, and rigorous imprisonment for life to a sixth man.
Those facing the gallows include the bride’s brother Suresh, her cousins Gurdev and Satish, and uncles Baru Ram and Rajender.
Ganga Raj, a local politician and “khap” member who is said to have steered the caste council’s verdict against the couple and later instigated their killings, has been punished with life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. A seventh accused, Mandeep Singh, who drove the killers and their helpless victims to the site of the murders, was sentenced to jail for seven years.
Manoj, a small-time electronics repair shop owner in the township of Kaithal, had married his childhood sweetheart Babli of Karora village against the wishes of her family. The girl’s family took the matter to the caste panchayat, which pronounced the marriage “illegal” and ordered a boycott of the groom’s family. Other village residents were warned of dire consequences, including a Rs 25,000 fine if they violated the khap’s edict.
On June 15, 2007, a group of men led by Babli’s brother and cousins dragged the couple out of a Karnal-bound state roadways bus, drove them to a remote location and hacked them to death before flinging their dead bodies into an irrigation canal. The assailants are believed to have had the assistance of a Haryana police constable deployed to protect Manoj and Babli on court orders.
Manoj’s widowed mother Chanderpati Devi and sister Seema, who valiantly persisted in the long quest for justice despite many threats from Haryana’s tradition-bound jat community, said were “greatly encouraged” by Tuesday’s court verdict. “Now we know that there is a God who not only punishes the guilty, but is also up there looking after my poor brother and bhaabi,” said the victim’s sister.
Seema said the only thing that continues to rankle her somewhat is the court’s decision to spare “khap” leader Ganga Raj the death penalty. “Our lawyers will file an appeal to have his sentence enhanced,” she said.
Tuesday’s verdict has been widely welcomed by senior legal experts. “I commend the valour and vision of the sessions judge. Like sati during the British Raj, honour killings too must be met with an iron fist,” said Mr Anupam Gupta, senior advocate and former counsel for the Liberhan Commission.
Asit Jolly