Over 20 khaps (village caste councils) in Haryana are openly defying court orders.
Undeterred by a court verdict on March 30 sentencing five members of a family to death for honour killing, the khaps are collecting money to “felicitate” and support the convicts’ relatives.
In a landmark judgment, a Karnal court had awarded death to five people and life to a sixth for killing Manoj, 23, and Babli, 19, in 2007.
The couple belonged to the same gotra (supposed patrilineal ancestry). They got married on May 18, 2007, but were killed by the girl’s family within a few days. Their bodies were thrown in a canal.
The khaps have decided to mobilise public opinion against the court order. They are collecting Rs10 from each family in the region to support the convicts’ families.
The families would be honoured at a mahapanchayat in Kurukshetra on April 13.
Those awarded death are Babli’s brother Suresh, uncles Rajender and Baru Ram and cousins Gurdev and Satish. The court gave leader of the khap that ordered the killing, Ganga Raj, a life term. Mandeep Singh, driver of the vehicle that was used to kidnap the couple, was awarded seven years in prison.
Additional district and sessions judge Vani Gopal Sharma, who delivered the verdict, has been provided extra security following khap threats.
