Bhiwani, Haryana:
A convicted rapist out on bail has been arrested along with his cousin for brutally beating his own aunt and another widow to death in the name of family honour. Tension prevails in the area while the accused is unrepentant.
The two women were attacked at Ranila village in Bhiwani district late Sunday night. The horrific crime was committed in front of at least 200 villagers, including dozens of women, but nobody came to the two women's rescue.
"The bodies were lying unattended in the open and nobody had touched them till the arrival of police," said a police official.
The victims were identified as Suman, 35, the mother of an eight-year-old girl, and Shakuntala, 40, the mother of a 15-year-old boy. They were beaten up badly with sticks by Shakuntala's nephew Naresh, 23, and his cousin Subhash, 22, police said.
"We have booked the accused for trespass and murder. This is a heinous twin murder case, and we will make sure that strict action is taken against the accused," Ashwin, Bhiwani's superintendent of police, told IANS.
"The accused were suspicious about the women' character and had also threatened the villagers of dire consequences if anyone dared to save them," the police official said.
"We have arrested both. Naresh is already a convict in a rape case and he was out of jail on parole. He had come to the village only 10 days ago."
The two men surrendered before police and confessed their crime, the official added.
"We have killed them as they were spoiling the image of our family and bringing a bad name to our community. It was necessary to save the honour of our family," Naresh told police.
Suman's father Rajinder Singh alleged that some other youths were also involved in the crime.
"Police should investigate this matter thoroughly. Some more local youths were also accompanying Naresh and Subhash and police should arrest them too," said Singh.
Nobody dared to stop the attackers and remained mute spectators. But the village headman informed police Monday morning.
"I immediately informed police when I came to know about the incident. Tension still prevails in our village and we have requested police to deploy more security personnel here," village headman Rishi Sahu told IANS Tuesday.