New Delhi: Two months after their wedding and seven weeks after they sought police protection, a couple was shot dead in Hansi city in Haryana’s Hisar district on Monday. While the couple later withdrew their request, police suspect it to be a case of ‘honour killing’. The husband and wife, Tejveer Singh and Meena, were in Lala Hukum Chand Jain Park when two assailants on a motorcycle fired seven rounds at them. According to police, the couple died on the spot. Their bodies were later taken to the civil hospital for post-mortem.
An FIR has been filed against unidentified persons under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Hansi City police station. While the police informed both families about the killings, Tejveer’s kin arrived at the police station and crematorium, but the girl’s family did not. During the investigation, it was found that the couple had applied for police protection on May 1, shortly after their wedding.
“However, they withdrew their application after staying for three days at a safe house. We are investigating why they withdrew the application and where they were living,” Ahmed was quoted as saying.
The murder is the third suspected ‘honour killing’ case in Haryana this June.
Former Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij had said in February this year that the Haryana government recorded 24 suspected ‘honour killing’ cases between 2019 and 2023. Activists, however, argue that the actual numbers are higher.
“There is a need for a proper law. Unless we have a proper law in place, such deaths won’t be documented correctly,” Reicha Tanwar, director of the Women’s Studies Research Centre at Kurukshetra University told ThePrint.
