Harshita’s sister accuses own husband of murder
Says Ragini singer had charged her brotherinlaw with raping her in 2014, leading to his arrest; he was later accused of killing her mother
KARNAL: A day after 22-year-old folk singer Harshita Dahiya was shot dead by unidentified men on Tuesday in Haryana’s Panipat district, her elder sister accused her own husband of the murder.
Lata Dahiya, who came to take her sister’s body from the Panipat civil hospital, alleged that her (Lata’s) husband Dinesh Kumar had enmity with the Dahiya family.
She revealed that Harshita had also filed a complaint against Dinesh of raping her in 2014 with the Delhi police and he was arrested on the charges of rape.
She alleged that later Dinesh threatened Harshita and her mother not to testify against him in the rape case. Later, he was also accused of killing her mother and Harshita was now the only witness in both the cases.
She said that for the past six months, Dinesh, who is currently lodged in the Jhajjar jail, has been threatening her, through his henchmen, of dire consequences if she testifies against him in the court in the murder and rape cases.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Panipat deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Desh Raj said that on the basis of Lata’s allegations, the police have filed an applica- tion in a local court in Panipat, seeking production warrant of Dinesh so that he can be brought from Jhajjar jail to Panipat for interrogation.
The DSP, however, said that so far there is no clue about the assailants, who killed Harshita on Tuesday and police teams have been formed to arrest them.
Harsh it a was on her way back after performing in Chamrara village in the district on Tuesday when two men stopped her vehicle and pumped six bullets into her neck and forehead. She died immediately, according to the police.
SINGER ALLEGED THREAT IN LIVE VIDEO
Harshita had recently posted a video on social media accusing “some people from the industry” of threatening to kill her
“There are some people from the industry, our own perform- ers from Haryana, threatening me on the phone to compromise and delete the video or else I will have to face the consequences,” Dahiya said in the video uploaded on YouTube.
She recorded a live video on Facebook on October 12 accusing some people of threatening to “outrage her modesty”.
She said on YouTube that she will also share the name and number of the person issuing the threats on Facebook and file a complaint about the death threats. It was not clear whether she filed a police complaint.
“I will not delete the live video on Facebook... I am not afraid of dying,” the singer said.
Hindustan Times could not independently verify the authenticity of the clip.
Talking to Hindustan Times, Panipat superintendent of police (SP) Rahul Sharma said investigations are on and it will be premature to give any statement. “The culprits will be arrested soon,” he said.
SOCIAL MEDIA WARRIOR
As per a video uploaded on her Facebook account, Harshita had gone to Chamrara to attend a programme for the unity of 36 biradaris (communities) in the state. She spoke about the challenges being faced by the Haryana farmers, and demanded that the state government and people protect the interest of farmers.
Harshita was very active on Facebook and had over a thousand followers. Today her account was abuzz with condolence messages.
Harshita, whose FB account describes her as a model and actor, spoke up regularly for both farmers and entertainers in Haryana. Her last live shows her dressed demurely in a peach saree, delivering a strident speech about the injustices meted out to farmers. A slogan that she often repeated was “Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan”.
The gutsy singer regularly posted photos and videos of herself with updates such as “Kundali mein shani, jyada money aur mujh se dushmani, teen on haanikarak hain (Saturn in the horoscope, an excess of money and enmity with me are all harmful ). In another post, she warns, “Phoddoongi, log murdon ne gaade ne, main Jaatni hoon, tanne zinde ne gaad doongi (I will destroy you, people bury the dead, I am a Jaatni, I will bury you alive.)”.
POLICE FILE PLEA IN COURT TO BRING DINESH, WHO IS CURRENTLY IN JHAJJAR JAIL, ON PRODUCTION WARRANT; NO CLUE ABOUT ASSAILANTS YET