Netizens Condemn ‘Honour-killing' as Young Couple Set Ablaze in Indian Village

New Delhi (Sputnik) — Last week's incident of a young village couple in the Indian state of Maharashtra allegedly being set ablaze by the woman's livid relatives over their inter-caste love marriage, has left a lot of netizens disgusted, evoking sharp reactions. Police have termed it an "honour-killing".

The 19-year-old woman, who sustained burns over 70 percent of her body and died on Sunday night, was pregnant. Her husband suffered 50 percent burns and is being treated at the hospital. The incident took place in Nighoj village, around 55 km from Ahmednagar, on 1 May, Police Officer Vijay Kumar Botre told Sputnik.

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The Twitterati has reacted with horror to the incident.

"There is no ‘honour' in killing", tweeted this user.

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This user called the accused "bigots".

​This netizen attributes the crime to bad upbringing.

​Police have launched a probe into the incident on the basis of a statement recorded by the couple while undergoing treatment and a dying declaration by Rukmini. Police have arrested Rukmini's uncles — Surendra Bhartiya and Ghansham Saroj. Her father Rama Bharathiya fled the village after the incident, The Indian Express reported.

The bride's father, believed to be among the honour killers, was apprehended on Tuesday afternoon.

"Rukmini's two uncles have already been arrested. Now, her father has also been apprehended", Investigating Officer Vijay Kumar Botre told Sputnik news agency on Tuesday afternoon.

"Mangesh (23) and his wife Rukmini (19) were accosted and set ablaze because they had embarked on an inter-caste marriage against their families' wishes", he added.

Quoting the police, The New Indian Express has reported that Rana Singh, a construction worker and Rukmini had married in November last year against the wishes of the latter's parents. "On 28 April, she came to meet her parents. On 1 May, Mangesh also came to take her back to their marital home", a police official said.

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The woman's father Rama Bharathiya along with her uncle Surendra Bhartiya and maternal uncle Ghansham Saroj allegedly locked the couple in a room and set them ablaze, the official added.

Noteworthy is the fact that to tackle the menace of honour killings, the government in the Indian state of Maharashtra, where this crime took place, is mulling to bring about a law to encourage inter-caste and inter-religious marriages, and give protection to such couples.