‘Villagers threatening to kill me & my child’

Hakim’s widow, who appeared in Satyamev Jayate, accuses police of inaction; cops term murder village rivalry

MEERUT: The widow of Abdul Hakim – the man who was murdered after exposing the khap panchayats' persecution of lovers in Aamir Khan’s TV show Satyamev Jayate — has accused villagers of openly threatening to kill her and her 18-month-old daughter.

Hakim was killed in broad daylight in Bulandshahr's Adoli village on Thursday. Five armed men sprayed bullets into him while he was on his way to the village doctor’s clinic to get medicines for his pregnant wife, 25year-old Mehawish.

His wife’s allegations came on Monday — the day the police arrested Asif, one of the alleged killers.

Hakim had eloped with Mehawish in November 2010. They had got married in Meerut and eventually settled in Delhi. Earlier this year, the couple had appeared in Satyamev Jayate and narrated how the panchayat passed a decree for their murder after their elopement and terrorised their families. Five months ago, they had finally returned to Adoli.

Mehawish also accused the police of making no serious effort to book her husband’s killers.

The police inaction, she said, has emboldened the villagers.

"My husband lost his life due to our love marriage. Now they (the villagers) are openly saying they would kill me and my daughter and our requests for protection have fallen on deaf ears,” she said.

The police dismissed her charges as “baseless”.

“I got it checked by officials, who found no truth in it,” said Gulab Singh, senior superintendent of police, Bulandshahr. “The murder has nothing to do with the couple’s past life. It had occurred due to an ongoing village rivalry.”

He also said he had not received any written request to offer any protection to the family.

The family had approached actor Aamir Khan, who visited Meerut on Monday and appealed to the police for help.

“We are in constant touch with Aamir Khan’s secretary. We hope Aamir would visit us and take note of our plight,” said Hakim’s brother Yusuf.