Three honour killing suspects sent to 5 days' police custody

A Delhi court today allowed the city police to interrogate in custody for five days the three persons accused in a sensational honour killing case in the national capital.

"The accused persons are remanded in police custody till June 2. Police is directed to get them medically examined before producing them in court on the next date of hearing," metropolitan magistrate Satish Kumar said.

Delhi police, which quizzed the accused inside the court premises for half-an-hour earlier during the day, formally moved an application seeking their custodial interrogation for 10 days to unravel the entire conspiracy.

"It seems that there was a deep rooted conspiracy to eliminate the victims who had married against the wishes of their families. The accused are mere doers and the names, if any of the instigators or the conspirators have to be ascertained," the public prosecutor said.

The weapon of offence, source of the alleged firearms and other incriminating materials such as clothes of accused are yet to be recovered and for that purpose police will have to take them to Dehradun and Rishikesh, he said.

Defence counsel Gajraj Singh, appearing for accused Mandeep Nagar, 23, Ankit Chaudhury, 22, and Nakul Khari, 21, however, opposed the Delhi police's plea saying the custodial interrogation of his clients was not required as the probe by them was over.

The court rejected the plea of the defence counsel that he be allowed to accompany the accused during their custodial
interrogation.

Delhi police got the custody of the three accused from the Dasna jail authorities after a court here yesterday issued production warrant against them.
 
The accused were arrested on June 24 by the Uttar Pradesh police from Garhmukteshwar, about 90km from the national capital.

They were on the run after allegedly killing Ankit's sister Monica, 24, along with her husband Kuldeep, 26, for marrying outside caste, and Mandeep's 22-year-old sister Shobha, who too had eloped with a man belonging to a different caste.

The three allegedly carried out the murders on June 20 at Ashok Vihar in north-west Delhi as they were said to be angry with their relatives for "sullying" or defiling the honour of their family by marrying outside caste.

The Uttar Pradesh police claimed to have recovered the country-made pistol and the car in which the accused were travelling for several days.