After honour killing arrests, uncle shows no remorse (Third Lead)

NEW DELHI - The father and uncle of a 19-year-old girl who tortured her and her boyfriend to death were sent to two days police custody here Tuesday, with the uncle saying he did not regret the brutal murders.

The unrepentant uncle, Om Prakash, said defiantly that he did not regret the death of Asha and Yogesh Kumar, after they insisted on getting married while belonging to different castes.

Police described the horrific murders as honour killing.

The couple was found dead Monday at Om Prakash’s house in north Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar with multiple stab wounds and clear signs that they had been tortured.

Police said the girl’s father, Suraj Kumar Saini, and Om Prakash were arrested late Monday and they confessed to the double murder. Metropolitan Magistrate Smita Gupta remanded them to police custody till June 17.

“We want more time to interrogate the two, hence we asked for their police custody,” an officer told IANS.

Deputy Commissioner of Police N.S. Bundela said that prima facie five people were involved in the murders - Asha’s father, her uncle, her cousin Sanjeev, her aunt and her mother.

Om Prakash told reporters he had no regrets about committing the Sunday night heinous crime.

“My brother killed them. I have no regrets whatsoever,” Om Prakash said as he was being escorted away by the police.

“The boy’s family was opposed to the match and told us to get her (Asha) married off to whoever we want to,” he added.

Officials have described it as a case of honour killing as the couple belonged to different castes and Asha’s family was vehemently opposed to the match.

“It looks like a case of honour killing. The girl’s marriage was fixed with somebody else because she and Yogesh were from different castes,” a police official said.

“On Sunday, the girl came to stay at her uncle’s house and was assaulted along with her boyfriend and killed by her family.”

Renu, Yogesh’s grieving elder sister, said: “Asha wanted to marry my brother but her family forcibly fixed her marriage to somebody else. On an earlier occasion, her mother came to our place and threatened us with dire consequences if Yogesh did not stop meeting her.”

But the young lovers insisted on getting married, only to meet a gory end.