A 21-year-old student was shot dead in broad daylight outside her college by a man in Faridabad in Haryana near Delhi on Monday. In a frightening video, the man and his friend can be seen attempting to abduct the woman and shooting her dead at point-blank range after the failed bid.
What happened in Faridabad?
The victim was a commerce final year student and had gone to her college to appear in the examination.
Tauseef, the main accused and his friend Rehan has been arrested, police said on Tuesday. "An SIT led by ACP Crime Anil Kumar will ensure quick probe & time-bound trial to ensure justice to the family," Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said.
The victim family has linked the murder to "love jihad" and said that Tauseef was infatuated with her. They have alleged that the man was forcing the woman to convert to Islam and marry him.
The family said that they had filed a case against the main accused in 2018 but withdrew it as the matter was settled later.
"We registered a case against the accused in 2018. He had harassed my sister for marriage and kidnapped her so we had filed an FIR against him. Police had arrested him the same day and after talks in a panchayat, the matter was settled," the victim's brother told India Today.
"In 2018, victim's family filed a kidnapping case against Tauseef but the family later said they did not want to take action," a police officer said. Victim's father said, "We filed a complaint in 2018 about Touseef harassing my daughter and had withdrawn the complaint to protect our daughter's name. Now they have killed my daughter."
Roads blocked, protests erupt
Meanwhile, the family members and angry locals staged a protest and blocked a road in Ballabhgarh, the town where the incident happened. A group of protesters broke into a shop in Faridabad and created a ruckus on Tuesday. Urging authorities to take strict action against the accused, the victim's mother said that she would not cremate her daughter until the accused is "encountered."
Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has ensured "strict action" in the matter. National Commission for Women (NCW) has also taken a suo motu cognizance of the matter and has written to the state DGP.
