Honour killing: Teen strangled, mutilated by father & brother in UP

Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh): Much as protests go on after rapes, each day comes with unpacking a different attack on women in the state.

And the latest is a honour killing in Shahjahanpur district, where a 16-year-old pregnant Dalit girl was brutally murdered by her father and elder brother for 'bringing shame' to the family. Her body was mutilated, according to IANS.  

The father has confessed to the crime, and is arrested but the brother is on the run, police said.

The girl had been missing since September 23 but her family lodged no complaint.

She was beaten and strangled to death. Her head was severed from the body which was then buried near the river bed, according to reports.

The body was recovered on Tuesday.

"The father has confessed to having killed his daughter because she was pregnant. People had started insulting him publicly. The girl's elder brother is also involved in the murder and we have booked both of them under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence)," Shahjahanpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) S. Anand told reporters.

"We have also questioned the mother and other relatives but their involvement has not been established," he added.

During preliminary inquiry, the family told police that the girl was living with a relative.

The girl, who never went to school, did not inform her about sexual encounter. It was only when her baby bump started showing the family came to know about her pregnancy.

She did not reveal the name of the rapist. "We are also trying to identify the person responsible for the girl's pregnancy as having a sexual relationship with a minor girl is also a crime," SSP Anand said.

This report from IANS has been edited