Indian woman, 20, tortured and lynched by her family and her boyfriend beheaded in horrific honour killing

Nidhi Barak and boyfriend Dharmender Barak, 23, were killed last night

Locals i n Gharnavati village, Haryana, watched the grisly scene unfold

They had eloped to Delhi but were lured back with promises they could wed



Police arrived to find the girl's family cremating her body on a pyre

The girls parents and uncle were arrested but other family members fled



The boyfriend's body was allegedly dumped outside his parents' home



A young Indian woman was beaten to death by members of her own family and her boyfriend beheaded in an horrific honour killing after they were lured back to their village thinking were going to be allowed to marry.



Nidhi Barak, 20, a fine arts student, and Dharmender Barak, 23 , who was studying at technical college, were killed last night as locals in Gharnavati village in the Indian state of Haryana watched on.

The pair had eloped to nearby Delhi on Tuesday because their families did not approve of their relationship.



Gruesome: The body of one of the two honor killing victims lies under a sheet in Gharnavati village in the Indian state of Haryana

But they had been lured back with promises that they would not be harmed and would finally be allowed to marry.



Miss Barak's parents and uncle have been arrested and police are now trying to trace her brother and other family members who disappeared missing since the crime.

According to police the couple were tortured for several hours at Miss Barak's home before she was beaten to death in full public view.

Dharmender Barak was beaten and his arms and legs broken, before he was beheaded. His body was allegedly dumped near his family's home at a public square in the village.

Police, who had been alerted by a villager, reportedly caught Miss Barak's family cremating her body on a pyre.



Her half-burnt body and that of Dharmender Barak have been sent for a post-mortem.

Local police chief Anil Kumar said: 'While murdering the boy they also beheaded him.

'We have arrested her father, mother and uncle and we are looking for her brother, a friend and driver of the car in which the couple were brought back to her home in Gharnavati village.

'Both belonged to the same village and the same caste. It is an honour killing but the murder was not approved by society.'

Police say they discovered the girl's parents cremating her body on a pyre. The body of the boyfriend was dumped outside his family home

India has for centuries seen killings that often target young couples who have relationships of which their families, clans or communities, particularly in traditional rural areas, disapprove.

Reasons for disapproval are numerous, but they sometimes include having relationships outside of their caste or religion.

The killings are carried out by relatives to protect the family's reputation and pride.

Police in Haryana have been conducting a campaign against honour killings in the state, where the sex-gender ratio is skewed in favour of men because of an outlawed but still existing tradition of female infanticide.

'We hold seminars and our women officers visit villages but the ultimate weapon against the scourge of honour killings is (more) education,' Kumar said.

India's Supreme Court said in 2010 that the death penalty should be given to those found guilty of honour killings, calling the crime a barbaric 'slur' on the nation.