Congress favours separate law for honour killings

NEW DELHI - The Congress Wednesday said it favoured a suitable law to deal with honour killings, saying there was a need to take holistic view of the problem as instances of such violence were being reported from different regions of the country.

“We are deeply concerned over the recent spate of violence and murder in the name of honour killings, particularly around the NCR (national capital region). We believe that time has come to take a national view in this matter and if the existing criminal laws of the land are not sufficient, the government should consider passage of a suitable law,” party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told reporters here.

“This violence cannot be condoned by any civilised society and must be put down with a firm hand,” she said.

Asked about khap panchayats (caste councils), Natarajan said the party was against any kind of extra-constitutional violence. She, however, did not name khap panchayats.

A 19-year-old girl and her boyfriend were tortured to death by the girl’s uncle and father in north Delhi’s Swaroop Nagar area June 13.

On Monday, a man and woman, who were married four years ago against the wishes of the girl’s parents, were found murdered in north Delhi’s Ashok Vihar in a suspected case of honour killing.

Cases of honour killings have earlier been reported from Uttar Pradesh and Haryana as well.