Shraddha murder: Union Minister blames live-in relationships

New Delhi: After the petrifying news of a woman in Delhi being murdered and chopped into pieces before being dumped off came to the public notice, Union Minister Kaushal Kishore blames live-in relationships for the incident.

Speaking to News18, Kishore said that similar incidents keep happening with "educated girls", who believe that they are "very frank" and are able to take own decisions for their future.

He asked why girls were opting for live-in relationships and added that if they did so, there should be proper registration for such relationships. He suggests that if parents object to such relationships, couples should have a court marriage before living together.

He further that educated girls should not get involved in such relationships, particularly after their parents have not given their consent. "Educated girls should not get into such relationships," he told the TV channel.

However, Shiv Sena leader Priyanka Chaturvedi has responded sharply to the minister's comment. She came down over him and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi must remove Kishore from his office.

"Surprised he didn't say girls are responsible for being born into this nation. Shameless, heartless and cruel, blame-the-woman-for-all problems mentality continues to thrive," MP Chaturvedi tweeted.

"If @PMOIndia really means what he says about women Shakti then he must sack this Union Minister immediately. We the women have had enough of carrying the burden of such patriarchal rubbish in the society," she added.

In the murder, which made headlines in the past couple of days, Aftab Poonawala strangulated his live-in partner Shraddha Walkar, chopped her into pieces, stored her in a fridge and dumped the pieces off over the next 18 days in the dark of the night.