Honour killing whiff: Man kills daughter, hangs self

NASHIK: A 22-year-old woman in Surgana taluka had to pay with her life for refusing to marry the groom chosen by her father.

Somnath Chaudhary’s (45), a farmer, allegedly killed his daughter Pushpa and later committed suicide.

Chaudhary’s son-in-law, Seetaram Laxman Dhoom (25), was detained by the Surgana police for allegedly aiding in the murder.

Dhoom allegedly helped Chaudhary dispose of Pushpa’s body, the police said.

The incident took place in Milanpada village, 15 km from Surgana town, on April 28.

Chaudhary used to live with his wife Setu, two daughters and a son in the Milanpada area of Surgana. His third daughter, the eldest one, is married to Dhoom. Chaudhary had got a marriage proposal from a farmer for Pushpa. But when she refused the proposal, Chaudhary strangulated her on the evening of April 28.

Assistant police Inspector S M Pardhe said Chaudhary had taken his daughter to a hill under the pretext of collecting wood and strangulated her there. Confused over what to do next, he contacted Dhoom and narrated the entire incident to him. The duo then cut Pushpa’s body into several pieces, filled them in two sacks and dumped them into a nearby lake at Mukpada.

Some villagers spotted one of the sacks floating on the lake waters on May 1 and immediately reported the matter to the police. The police also got information that Chaudhary had spread the word about his daughter going missing for the past few days.

During the course of the investigation, the police asked Chaudhary to come to the police station for interrogation. “While both Chaudhary and his wife were both at home, none of them came to the police station. I then went to the village in the early hours of Friday. On seeing us approaching his house, the only house in Milanpada village across the river, he escaped into the jungle. The next day, Chaudhary’s wife, Setu, came to the police station to identify the body; and around 7 am, a villager called the police station informing about Chaudhary’s suicide; he had hanged himself from a tree.”

“We would soon be arresting Dhoom for further investigation. The sack in which the girl’s legs were chopped and kept is yet to be recovered, but we fear they may have eaten by the fish inside the lake,” said Pardhi.

Pushpa, who had completed her studies till class IV, was being persuaded by her father to get married. She was apparently in a relationship with someone, but never revealed his name even after her parents asked her to divulge the infomration so that they could marry her off to him, the police said, after having interrogated Pushpa’s mother.

Chaudhary’s other daughter, who is unmarried, is 15 years old and studying in class IX while his 13-year-old son studies in class VII.

A link to the article can be found here.