Man Kills Minor Girl From Different Religion For Refusing To Marry Him. Police Stop Media From Covering The Case

Yet another brutal murder of a girl by a man for refusing interfaith relationship has come to light in national capital New Delhi. Among several such cases in recent past, 22-year-old Naina Kaur was stabbed to death by Sher Khan and 20-year-old Nikita Tomar was shot dead by Mohammed Tausif last year.

In the latest case that has emerged from Begumpur in Rohini, the victim is said to be a minor.

On Monday (22 February), when we reached the area, the police and security officers stopped us from meeting the family. The area was heavily barricaded at several points. The police were stopping anyone who was not a local resident from even accessing the streets leading to the victim’s house.

We accessed the first information report (FIR) registered in the case at Begumpur (number 58) on 20 February 2021, a day after the murder. It was filed on the complaint of Kaushal Kumar, a 19-year-old cousin of the victim.

The complaint says that the girl’s family has been living in Begumpur for the last two years, having shifted from Bawana area of Delhi. The family hails from Etah district of Uttar Pradesh.

In Bawana, the girl would often go to a friend Pinky, through whom she got in touch with a man named Laik Khan. Laik, son of Safeek Khan, hails from Hardoi district of UP. Laik would often visit the girl in Begumpur after the family shifted their residence. For the last two-three months, Laik had been pressuring the girl to marry him and threatening to kill her if she did not agree.

Around 5 pm on 19 February, Laik visited the house again. He gave Kaushal Rs 200 and asked him to get some chicken from the market as he wanted to have dinner with the family. The girl did not stop him from going to the market either, so Kaushal took the money and left.

When he returned, he saw Laik going out with a hammer in his hand and putting a lock on the room’s door. Despite Kaushal asking, Laik did not stop. When Kaushal called up on the girl’s phone, he heard it ringing from inside the room. He sat outside and waited for an elder to come. When the girl’s mother Rani Devi came, the two broke open the lock. The girl was lying on the floor, in a pool of blood. The family somehow took her to a hospital in a borrowed car, but doctors soon declared her dead.

The complaint gives the girl’s age as 17. The police have invoked IPC section 302 (murder), but have left the column for ‘suspect/accused’ blank.

The officers guarding the area on Monday did not provide a reason or written order for stopping the media from reaching the site of the crime. They simply evaded the question and refused to say anything on camera.

In a lane about 500 metres from the victim’s house, two residents – Nem Singh and Mahesh Chand – were discussing the case. When we asked about details, they said they knew nothing more than what had been reported in the local newspapers. The men said the area is almost entirely Hindu-populated, save for “four-five” Muslim families.

The men said there had been no law and order problem in the last three days. They guessed that the heavy security was perhaps due to imminent elections in the area. “Maybe the case could impact elections,” said Nem Singh.

On 28 February, by-elections to five municipal wards will be held in Delhi including Rohini C.

We met a 25-year-old man, Aditya Kumar, who said he had come from Mayur Vihar, which is more than 20 kilometres away. Employee at a private firm, Kumar said he had taken two-days off from work to stand in solidarity with the victim family.

As the police had denied him entry to the victim’s house, Kumar was now going door-to-door in the area visiting other families to make them aware of the case.

“I told them about the recent Rinku Sharma case. This case, and many other similar cases that have taken place in Delhi,” said Kumar, claiming that he was part of no Hindu organisation. He said he was doing this voluntarily, without anyone asking him to.

Laik Khan was reportedly arrested on Monday from his native place in Hardoi.