Girl ‘killed by father’ in Rohtak for marrying Dalit was adopted

18-year-old girl who was shot dead outside Rohtak court complex on Wednesday for marrying a Dalit boy, was adopted by her father when she was two years old, the police said on Thursday.

Sub-inspector Narender Kumar, who was escorting the girl from court, was also shot dead in the attack that is suspected to have been ordered by the father of the girl, as he was upset at her inter-caste marriage.

Sources in the police said the father, Ramesh, has been detained and being interrogated, though no formal arrest has been shown as of now. The police said Ramesh adopted victim Mamta from his brother-inlaw Ramkesh in 2002.

“Ramesh got deeply hurt when her daughter eloped with a boy from lower caste last year in August. He got her husband arrested as she was still a minor then. But her daughter refused to come back home even then,” the police said.

“On Wednesday, when Mamta was brought from Karnal’s Naari Niketan for a court hearing, her father had met her

to convince her again to come back home. However, she again refused. This angered him and he ordered her killing in the next two hours,” the police sources said, adding that they were probing if the father had been

plotting the murder from much before.

Two unidentified motorcycle-borne shooters had opened fire at the girl when she was being taken back by police to Karnal.