09 June,2011 07:42 AM IST | | Atul Krishan
Two arrested in Harsh Vihar honour killing case, cops trace girl's body
The shocking case of double murder of an elderly couple, Sharda Prasad and his wife Shobha, in Harsh Vihar in northeast Delhi on June 1 has taken a new turn. The Delhi Police on Tuesday night arrested the contract killer who was paid to kill Geeta, the couple's daughter-in-law, for daring to go ahead and marry her boyfriend against her family's wishes. The police has been trying to recover the girl's body which had been dumped in Bulandsaher in Uttar Pradesh. Her husband, however, had had a lucky escape.
Geeta was killed by her familyu00a0u00a0Pic/Mid Day
DCP South, Chhaya Sharma said that the two accused, identified as Padam Singh and Bhushan, were arrested from Malviya Nagar following a tip-off that they were planning to kill Durgesh - the girl's husband who had managed to escape. The other accused, the girl's family members, are still absconding.
The trail
"The police got a tip-off that that two persons involved in double murder case in Harsh Vihar will come to Malviya Nagar area. A raid was conducted and Padam Singh and Bhushan were caught from near Malviya Nagar Metro Station at around 3 pm on Wednesday. Two pistols, one Japanese made and the other countrymade were recovered from them along with nine live cartridges. An FIR under arms act was registered against the duo," said Sharma.
The accused informed the police that they had demanded Rs 2 lakh from their school friend Dinesh Rawal, alias Sonu, who is Geeta's brother, to assist him in his plan to murder Durgesh and Geeta. Her father Ratan Singh had already Rs 2 lakh to kill Geeta and Durgesh.u00a0
The accused reached Delhi on May 31 and spent the night at Sonu's house. All three of them headed to Durgesh's house the next morning. When his mother opened the door, Sonu fired at her. Then they went up and murdered Durgesh's father. After their attempt to kill Durgesh was unsuccessful, they fled on motorcycles, said Sharma.
Shot dead
They then reached GT Karnal Road where Sonu's father was waiting for them in a Wagon-R car. The accused went to Sonu's native village in Greater Noida. After reaching the village Ratan Singh asked them to kill his daughter Geeta. Rakesh, Geeta's maternal uncle, took her to Bulandshehar along with the her father Ratan Singh where they tried to strangulate her. "But Rakesh told them to shoot her instead. She was then shot dead by Padam Singh and the body was dumped in Jhajjar. An FIR in this regard was registered at Kakod police station in UP," Sharma said.
The story so far
Durgesh Tiwari had eloped with Geeta last December. While Geeta's family opposed the marriage, Durgesh's parents had supported the couple. Angered over the incident, Geeta's family members complained to police against Durgesh and got an FIR of kidnapping filed against him at Harsh Vihar police station.
"Durgesh and Geeta had fled to Jammu where they got married. A police team was sent to Jammu and Durgesh was arrested. But when produced in court, the girl denied that she was kidnapped and raped. She told the court that she had gone on her own will and got married. Following her confession, Durgesh was released on bail," said the DCP South. Since then the family members of Geeta had planned to kill Geeta, Durgesh and his whole family as they were feeling humiliated. They even shifted to their native village Ghori Bachera in Greater Noida.
