A local court of Badaun on Monday awarded death penalty to seven members of a family for killing a couple in Fareedpur village in May 2006.
The police,in its investigation,found that Deen Dayal and Aneeta,both in their early twenties,had been victims of honour killing.
All those convicted belonged to the girls family and included her father Nathu. Additional District and Session Judge S N Tripathi held them guilty of murder.
District government counsel Rohtas Kumar said the court came to the conclusion that the crime fell in the category of the rarest of rare.
According to the prosecution,Deen Dayal and Aneeta,both residents of Fareedpur village,were having an affair and Aneetas family members were against it.
On the night of May 22,Aneetas family members went to Deen Dayals residence and forcibly took him to a secluded place. They also took Aneeta there. In the presence of villagers,the accused shot dead both,hacked their bodies and burnt the pieces. Then they threw the ashes in a nearby river, said the DGC.
The next day,when Deen Dayal did not return home,his elder brother Sattu filed an FIR. When the police failed to solve the case and were preparing to file a closure report,a new investigating officer was appointed on Sattus complaint.
