In a shocking and petrifying incident of honour killing, a woman and her husband were set ablaze allegedly by her father and relatives in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district as they were opposed to the couple’s marriage.
According to the Hindustan Times, the couple was identified by the police as Mangesh Ransingh,23, and wife Rukmini,19, while the accused were identified as Rama Bhartiya (who is absconding) and his brothers, Surendra Bhartiya and Ghanshyam Saroj. The incident took place at Nighoj village in Parner taluka of Ahmednagar district on May 1. On the day of the incident when Mangesh Ransingh went to pick her wife from her parent’s place. When he reached the house of his in-laws, a heated argument broke out between the couple, Rukmini’s father and two other people over their love marriage, following which the argument turned into a scuffle.
The father, a daily wage labourer, took the extreme step of dousing the couple with kerosene with the help of his two brothers. He and his relatives were vehemently opposed to the inter-caste marriage which took place around six months back, police said. When some villagers came to know about the incident, they broke into the house, but the couple had sustained enough injuries by then.
The woman succumbed to her injuries on May 5, while her husband is still undergoing treatment in the hospital. The couple had solemnized their marriage six months ago, but Rukmani’s parents were reluctant to accept them.
A case under sections 302 (murder) and 307 (attempted murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has been lodged at Parner police station in the district. The accused identified as Ghanshyam and Surendra Babu Lal Bhartiya, have been arrested by the police, while Rukmani’s father is still on the run.
