There were repeated quarrels between the family members and the girl, who was adamant to marry the Dalit youth. | Photo Credit: Representative Image

Key Highlights The girl was hanged from a ceiling fan by her father and brother to make it look like as suicide However, the family's lie was nailed in the autopsy report The victim fell in love with the Dalit youth Manoj Vaghela when they worked in a firm

Ahmedabad: Inspite of the promulgation of strict and social campaigns against caste discrimination, there seems to be no end to caste malaise. Some people in our society still refuse to give up primitive mentality and adhere to modernity values.

In one such case, family members murdered a 19-year-old girl after they discovered that she was allegedly in a relationship with a Dalit man. The incident took place in the Gandhidham area of the Kutch district of Gujarat on February 28.

Murder portrayed as suicide

According to a report in Times of India, the family later tried to project the girl's murder as a suicide by hanging. Police have now arrested the girl's 42-year-old father Ramesh Rajgor, mother Rashmi and her 21-year-old brother Manish.

"The victim's mother sat on her chest and smothered her with a pillow while her brother grabbed her hands. After the girl was dead, she was hanged from a ceiling fan by her father and brother to make it look like suicide by the victim," said Sub-inspector, PA Chawda.

Lie nailed in the autopsy report

However, the family's lie was nailed in the autopsy report. The postmortem confirmed that the girl was smothered and strangled. According to police, no outsider was present in the house suicide when the girl was murdered.

"Apart from this, the victim's brother also clicked photographs of the 'hanging' of the girl and showed it to the doctor raising suspicion on the family," said the police officer.

Police arrested the girl's father, brother and mother after they confessed to the alleged crime (Representative image)

Chawda further added, "During the course of interrogation, the family broke down and confessed to the crime. The family members said they were against the relationship of the girl with the Dalit man she wanted to marry." The girl's father works as a tea seller while her brother worked in a private company.

Love bloomed during job

The Dalit man identified as Manoj Vaghela and the girl met when they used to work at a firm in Kandla Free Trade Zone. The family of the victim forced her to leave her job when they came to know about her affair with Vaghela.

Reports suggest there were repeated quarrels between the family members and the girl, who was adamant to marry the Dalit youth.

