Haryana run-away couple gets security cover in Chandigarh

CHANDIGARH - A run-away couple, who married April 5 after eloping from their homes in a Haryana village, were given security cover on orders of the district court Thursday, after they alleged a threat to their lives from their families as they belonged to the same gotra (sub-caste).

According to police, Bharat Bhushan and Sonia Saini, residents of Sivan village in Kaithal district, appeared before the District and Sessions Judge S.K. Goel and appealed for security.

The couple alleged that Seeta Devi, mother of Sonia, and other family members were giving them life threats as they were from the same gotra.

Taking cognizance of their appeal, the court ordered the senior superintendent of police (SSP), Chandigarh, to provide security to the couple.

Next date of hearing is slated April 20.

Bhushan and Sonia got married at a temple here in Sector 40 April 5.

Haryana khap panchayats are famous for giving notorious decisions in connection with the marriages involving a couple from the same gotra. Many couples have been killed in the state in the past few years in related cases.

A few days back a sessions court in Kaithal town sentenced to death five people who were convicted of killing a couple in 2007.

The same court Thursday also directed the SSP to provide security to another couple from Chandigarh - Hardeep Singh and Rishu Gupta.

Hardeep and Rishu got married April 5 at a gurudwara in Khuda Ali Sher village in Chandigarh. They also alleged that family members of both were giving them life threats.