‘Honour killing’ in Dwarka: Accused hid inside couple’s home

According to police, they have accessed CCTV footage which shows three men travelling in an SUV from Sonepat to attack the couple, 24-year-old Vinay Dahiya, a taxi driver, and 19-year-old Kiran, who had eloped and got married in August last year.

Police identified the men as Kiran’s brother Aman Dahiya, his two friends, and his cousin Vicky.

Police said Aman was in touch with associates of jailed gangster Sunil alias Tillu Tajpuriya, who are still helping him evade arrest. “Four years ago, Aman was arrested in connection with the murder of a villager over a trivial issue. He was lodged in Sonepat Jail, and that’s where he is believed to have met Tillu’s associates,” said a police source.

Investigation so far suggests that Aman was instigated by his uncle Shakti and decided to take revenge “for the family name being sullied” because of the wedding.

DCP (Dwarka) Santosh Kumar Meena said, “We have arrested Rohit Dahiya (22) and Ritik Kumar (22), who was earlier arrested in a murder case. We scanned call detail records and conducted location analysis of several suspects. Social media accounts were also scanned to gather leads. Local intelligence was mounted and we found that there was resentment among the girl’s family as they believed that Kiran and Vinay had married in the same ‘gotra’. They felt this hurt their honour and pride in the village.”

During questioning, the accused said Aman had hatched a conspiracy to eliminate the couple. “He made a plan with Rohit, Ritik and one other person. Aman conducted a recce of the couple’s flat a day before the incident. On June 24, the four accused arranged weapons and reached Ambarhai village in two vehicles. They found that the couple were not home at that time. Three of them — Aman, Rohit and Ritik — went inside and asked their associate to bolt the door from the outside. Around 8.30 pm, when the couple opened the door, the accused fired at them,” Meena said, adding that after the incident, the accused fled to Rohtak, where Aman took the weapons from Rohit and Ritik and dumped their mobile phones.

The couple were rushed to Venkateshwar Hospital, where Vinay was declared dead on arrival. Kiran’s condition is said to be critical, police said.