Father beheads teen daughter for befriending a man in 'honor killing', walks to police station with head
Warning: Graphic details
In a gruesome crime, on Wednesday, March 3, residents of a small village in India were shocked to see a man calmly walking down a road with the severed head in his hands. He had killed his 17-year-old daughter and then beheaded her in their home. The incident took place in Uttar Pradesh state's Hardoi district.
Sarvesh Kumar was walking down the street with his daughter Neelam's severed head in an alleged case of honor killing. According to the latest reports, two police officers who intercepted him recorded a video of him admitting to killing his daughter. The officers filmed the confession on their phone. They can be seen asking the man his name, where he is from and whose head it is. Kumar doesn't hesitate at all before admitting to the murder.
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"I did it. There was no one else. I closed the latch and did it. The body is in the room," he can be heard saying in the video. He said that he found Neelam alone at home, locked her in a room and beheaded her with a sharp object. When he was asked to put the head down and sit by the road, Kumar obliged. He was reportedly upset with his eldest daughter. He has four children — three girls and a boy.
News channel NDTV's reporter Alok Pandey said, "She (Neelam) had struck up a friendship with a man from the village and the dad said he did not like it and he was against it, but his daughter would not listen." He added that the two-minute video was "ghastly" to watch as the father was walking "calmly" on the road before the police intercepted him. "Words fail me. One hopes this man gets the strictest possible punishment," he added. Police said an investigation is being carried out. Meanwhile, a photo showed a policeman carrying the severed head by the hair. He has been suspended.
According to the latest reports, Kapil Deo Singh, who is a police official posted in Hardoi, said, "A person named Sarvesh killed his teenaged daughter and was spotted carrying her severed head on the road. We intercepted him as soon as we received information about it and have taken him into custody. We have also taken serious note of a photo which shows a police official carrying her head inappropriately. The cop has been suspended."
According to reports, Kumar's wife has also been arrested. Police found the body of his daughter at the family home and have sent it for post mortem.
The latest data released by the National Crime Record Bureau in September last year, the state of Uttar Pradesh in India topped the 2019 list of states with the highest number of crimes against women. The state also recorded the highest number of crimes against children with 7,444 cases, followed by Madhya Pradesh (6,503) and Maharashtra (6,402). According to the BBC, while there are no official statistics, hundreds of people are believed to be killed in India every year by family members over relationships or marriages that went against the wishes of their parents, elders, community, caste and or religion. Murders by family members for being in a relationship are known as "honor killings". A BBC report reveals that while there are no authentic figures, campaigners say hundreds of so-called "honor crimes" take place every year in India.