14-year-old pregnant Dalit girl killed by father and brother in UP's Sidhauli, say police

Shahjahanpur: In a suspected case of honour killing, a 14-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly killed by her father with the help of her elder brother after she became pregnant and refused to tell them who was the father of the child. “The matter came to light on Tuesday when villagers found the body of a girl with its head cut off in Dulhapur village in Sidhauli area and informed the police,” Superintendent of Police S Anand told PTI on Wednesday. “During the probe it was found that she was six months pregnant and they suspected that she had a relationship with someone. Prima facie it appeared to be case of honour killing and the father of the girl was interrogated,” the SP said. The accused told the police that the girl was killed on 24  September but the family did not approach the police, they said. The SP said that according to the victim’s father, his daughter was pregnant and when he asked her about the man responsible, “she did not disclose his name due to which he strangulated her”. The SP said the accused wanted to marry his daughter to the man with whom she was in a relationship. After killing his daughter, he disposed of the body near a ‘’nullah’’ (drain) after cutting the head, the SP added. Her brother fled from the spot after the incident, while her father was arrested. “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),” a local police spokesman said. The police are also trying to identify the person responsible for the girl’s pregnancy, he said, adding that a probe is on in the matter.