Five condemned to death for India ‘honour’ killing
The parents, uncle, aunt and brother of Asha, a 19-year-old woman killed along with her boyfriend Yogesh in 2010, were all condemned to hang by additional sessions court judge Ramesh Kumar.
Yogesh, a taxi driver, wanted to marry Asha, the daughter of a vegetable vendor, but the girl's family was against the alliance because the boy belonged to a lower caste.
India has seen an upsurge in such killings, which mainly involve young couples who marry outside their caste or against their relatives' wishes and are murdered to protect what is seen as the family's reputation and pride.
Autopsy reports revealed that the young couple had been tied with ropes, beaten with metal pipes and electrocuted, local media reports said.
"Medical examination had revealed that the two had died due to the thermoelectric shock from repeated electrocution," said the Indian Express newspaper.
Public prosecutor PK Verma told AFP: "All the five persons were handed the death penalty because it was proved beyond doubt that they tortured and killed the young boy and girl just because they were in love and wanted to marry.
"The murders were brutal and deliberate," Verma added.
The convicted family can appeal against the decision in a higher court.
Last year, India's Supreme Court said the death penalty should be given to those found guilty of "honour" killings, calling the crime a barbaric "slur" on the nation.
It only allows the death penalty in what it calls the "rarest of rare" category.
Ravi Kant, a New Delhi lawyer who has been fighting to bring in a law which will provide specific, severe penalties to curb such killings, welcomed the punishment handed out Friday by the city court.
"Such a punishment will certainly have a huge impact on the society. It will serve as a strong deterrent to one and all. The sentencing is also in line with the Supreme Court directive and it must be lauded," Kant told AFP.
There are no official figures on honour killings, though an independent study in 2010 suggested that as many as 900 were being committed every year in the northern states of Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.
Many cases go unreported, with police and local politicians turning a blind eye to what some see as an acceptable form of traditional justice by families seeking to protect what they see as their honour.
Prisoners can often languish for years on death row in India, with only one execution having taken place in the last 15 years – that of a former security guard hanged in 2004 for the rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl.
COMMENTS (52)
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Princess Diana got honour killed by the British royal family for dating a Muslim Dodi Al Fayed. The mother of crown princes could not be seen to be dating a Muslim. So much for the civilized west.
@Nitish: You admit being a minor and too young to comment. But still you go through overseas media and expressing your views. I admire you for that. JSM is right about concentrating on your studies now.Good luck.
Nitish
You do not go around killing people (however close they may be to you) if you do not agree with them. In spite of non-concurrence of our views, I am sure you do not belong to a barbaric society.
@JSM: And this is all coz my views r not concurrent with your views.
Nitish
You are too young to be commenting on these issues. Concentrate on your studies.
@sundar: With due respect,i m too young to answer you.BUt My parents talked to me about my love from very high school days though i was not mature enough at that time.There were very clear guidelines from their side about my partner.Like caste is not a problem.Inter religious marriage is completely unacceptable for them.I m a brahmin so obviously girl should be vegie or should follow same eating habit after marriage.No matter how serious the case is,I dont have to elope.I m fulfilling their guideline,so why i should worry.The only problem is I m still minor.They r telling me to wait.I can never ditch her.its like my family is ditching her.I m very clear about my love to my parents from very starting. I know they will let me marry her but now they want me to focus more on study rather on date.They want me to get the job first. . **If the parents are not agreeing then the boy ends the whole thing. Do you think it is fair? Are you not breaking a heart here? I have no idea about these cases.For me its like nightmare.people should refrain from getting into such a mess.Its like ruining your own life.You cant choose option out of them.That is how i brought up and that is how i think .
in pakistan hundreds of peoples dye in the name of honor killings and they can get away with. there is not a single example where court has given any exemplary punishment to the killers. We pakistanis need to learn from indian justice system where at least poors and downtrodden can receive justice as well.
@Nitish:
.......but i will never go for marriage against the will of my parents.i m trying to convince them... ..... Your devotion to parents is commendable. But the problem comes if your parents are not convinced. The boy falls in love and the girl thinks he is going to marry her. If the parents are not agreeing then the boy ends the whole thing. Do you think it is fair? Are you not breaking a heart here? My son and daughter have chosen their life partners. Me or my wife didn't care about their caste or creed. We have confidence in our children.
@faaltu mein khwam kha: you are an intellectulal who has came over of bad customs of their society., they are vegetable vendors. better education is the best way to eliminate these things in future. relying on harsh punishment is regressive. by the way i am against death penalty instead i will support penal labour.
Here I would like to say i have my own views and i dont care about how you guys feel .i have written so many comments to buttress my point.But ET does not want to publish it.Do not simply bash me.If you really want healthy conversation ,come to TOI . No one is in favor of honor killing. @moderator at least publish this.
@Nitish i am a father to a daughter,and believe me i will not be ''pained'' if she chooses anyone as her soul-mate irrespective of his caste or religion.its her prerogative only. PS:I belong to the so called upper caste.
@Raj-USA who writes "Would a Brahmin willingly and happily marry off his daughter to a Yadav? No. He would at least wish secretly in his minds how good it would have been had the boy also belonged to Brahmin class."
Man, you have no logic.
Secretly I wish I was married to Lisa Simpson.
@Azi: Don't be too happy, in India there is the caste system to explain this kind of barbarism - what is your excuse in Pakistan ??
@Raj - USA:
Technically, NONE of the gods were "Brahmins". And since when has Kshatriya or Vysya been "low caste" ?
@Nitish: Death penalty is cheaper than 7-8 prison time. If you want, you can donate extra money to the government of India to keep these people in prison for 7-8 years.
@Gary: Meant to say that caste and religion does not come even remotely. Word "not" was inadvertently omitted. However, the context would have made it clear that word "not" was missed out.
@Gary: "Really? How do you know this? The above statement is a sweeping generalization. Some people i know do care for the happiness and well-being of their kids more than caste, religion, or nationality"
Completely agree. My parents are Brahmin. I do not say my family is Brahmin because lots of my uncles,/aunts, cousins, nieces/nephews are married to people with different caste, language, religion and nationality. While caste tends to have some relevance in 'arranged' marriages, increasingly most people are choosing their spouses outside the traditional family networks and I don't know of any heartburn that this has caused for anyone.
@Gary: Agree that it appears a sweeping statement. But that was not my intention. The point I am trying to make (though may have not been able to make it clearly) is that practice of caste system is extremely bad and I have a strong dislike for this. In the last 8 years we have had 4 or 5 intercaste marriages in my extended family. We also have inter religion marriages in our family. 4 years ago one boy from my wife's side married a Chinese girl. They are all love marriages. I wish to see a day when caste and religion does come even distantly in one's thoughts. Yes, the parents should not think of anything else other than the well-being of their kids. All said, caste system is vanishing fast but a lot still needs to be done.
@Raj - USA: "Would a Brahmin willingly and happily marry off his daughter to a Yadav? No." Really? How do you know this? The above statement is a sweeping generalization. Some people i know do care for the happiness and well-being of their kids more than caste, religion, or nationality... People's choices and decisions show what they value, not sure what it has to do with what caste you are born to.
I think you guys took my comment the wrong way; I was merely alluding to the fact India, like Pakistan has lots of prisoners on death row and hasn't actually executed anyone for years now. This is why I said "if they have the guts to actually hang the men".
Personally, I wholeheartedly support the decision of the court and hopefully, the higher courts will sustain the ruling.
@khalsa: "@IceSoul: a simple vegetable seller and his family is very easy to hang.
" The man is being hangednot because he is a vegetable seller or that he is smple but because he murdered his daughter and also because he murdered the son of a simple taxi driver. The issue here is not the station in life but the heinous nature of the crime.
@suleman: very sad to say sir is not about india or pakistan.
@IceSoul: a simple vegetable seller and his family is very easy to hang.
@mr. righty rightist: Would a Brahmin willingly and happily marry off his daughter to a Yadav? No. He would at least wish secretly in his minds how good it would have been had the boy also belonged to Brahmin class. This is the caste difference I am talking about not the official classification of higher class, scheduled class and OBC's.
@mr. righty rightist: What I meant was that Kshatiyas and Yadavs belong to a class lower than the highest class Brahmins. I did not mean the classification as is used in classifying Schedule caste, OBC's etc.
Why can't you disown your daughter? Why do you have to take her life? Who gave you that right? As if that was not enough, you took life of another person also whose only fault was that he fell in love with your daughter, or sister?
@IceSoul: Think they will not be hanged. Many are against death sentence for various reasons, but that doesn't mean they condone this inhumane brutal act. Many will like to see specific, severe penalties to curb such killings.
@mr. righty rightist: I am not talking about the official classification of castes. I am talking about the mindset. Many see finer differences even within their own castes. For instance, a person known to me who has a 33 year old unmarried daughter mentioned recently that he is willing to settle even for an Iyengar boy for his daughter. He is an Iyer. Both Iyer and iyengar are Brahmins. BTW, Yadavs and Kshatriyas are a level below Brahmins, as far as I know. The case referred in this ET news may also be of finer difference between the castes. Both may not be brahmins but the vegetable vendor may belong to a slightly higher class than the taxi driver. In any case Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Yadavs belong to different castes. The point is that although Hindu religion has gods of different castes, the rituals and centuries long practices of caste system has made it a curse for the religion.
@Raj - USA. @mr. righty rightist
Is it relevant what the resppective castes of the Gods were and whetehr they were high caste or low caste? This is 21st century. For a parent to murder a child based on caste identity of the suitor she chose is just flat out wrong regardless of whether Kshatriyas and Yadavas are considered upper cast or lower caste.
@IceSoul: "Indians criticize Pakistan day in and day out, now lets see if they have the guts to actually hang the men. I sincerely hope they do."
The court has ordered death sentence but it was a lower court, so the family has a right to appeal. I don't see any guts required on anyone's part here. It is not like this family has receved mass support within India - unlike Mr. Qadri.
@Umar: "Where is the westen media now? Why do they don’t prescribe that in west"
What are you expecting from western media - to support or criticize the judge's decision?
Ah i see, the honor killings is not only a problem in Pakistan but India as well.
This story is fabricated, they changed the name Pakistan to India, these things don't happen in India. That is all
@Umar:
Because the killers are brought to justice instead of making them national heros.
These types of things happen everywhere in the world, but the difference is what you do with it.
@Raj-USA who writes "Many of the Hindu Gods, like Rama and Krishna are not higher caste Brahmins but lower caste Kshatriyas and Yadavs."
Well neither Ksjatriyas nor Yadavs come under the category of lower castes. Check your facts.
@BRUISED INDIAN: @Nitish:
Many of the Hindu Gods, like Rama and Krishna are not higher caste Brahmins but lower caste Kshatriyas and Yadavs. Many times Hindu Gods have different castes in their different avatars. To me caste system is a curse.
@Nitish: I think the pain is to see such caste-loving Indians living in the 21st century. Please go back to your cave!
Where is the westen media now? Why do they don't prescribe that in west
@Nitish: "It seems that being upper caste is a big sin now a days".
Strange logic. The girl's family thought that Yogesh being from lower caste was the sin and hence they brutally murdered their own daughter and Yogesh. So it seems that being lower caste really translated into a death warrant for Yogesh and the woman he loved and wanted to marry.
"Death penalty is not warranted.7 or 8 yr jail is enough.Only who has daughter can understand the pain"
You think 7-8 years punishment is all that is needed. For me, this is worse than even a terrorist. At least the terrorist is killing strangers whom they are brainwashed are the enemies. But a father - whom a daughter depends on for love and protecion killing his daughter? There can be no worse crime than this.
And frankly there would have been no pain if the family had graciously accepted their daughter's choice. In fact it could have been a happy occassion all around. Even if the family was conservative and could not get itself to accept their daughter's choice, they could have just stoped communicating with her. But there is no justification for cold bloded murder.
How is this behavior different from the violent reactions the video has engendered? Basically it is saying " we are offended by you , so we have a right to kill you'. Absurd.
ET: A statement such as this cannot be allowed to not be rebuted. Pls. allow my comment which is on point
"This is not good.Death penalty is not warranted.7 or 8 yr jail is enough.Only who has daughter can understand the pain.It seems that being upper caste is a big sin now a days"
Death penalty IS warranted and should be carried out as soon as possible. I have a daughter, and no matter what she does, I would NEVER TORTURE her or KILL her. These parents and her brother and aunt and uncle are sick, sick, sick. They not only killed her and her boyfriend, but they tortured them!
@Nitish - so, you would torture and kill your own daughter if she feel in love with a lower caste? I think the death penalty is warranted for you also.
@Nitish: Repulsed at your comment!
YES very good judgement. Killers deserve death.
This is not good.Death penalty is not warranted.7 or 8 yr jail is enough.Only who has daughter can understand the pain.It seems that being upper caste is a big sin now a days.
pakistan far worse when it comes to honour killings with no justice....
Good...........We have to kill this caste/biradri system...........Almost dead in urban areas,now govt. should focus on rural areas.......
this had to happen.......well i appreciate the justice given...bravo...now hang all five as fast as possible...........