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Uttar Pradesh police on Tuesday flatly ruled out the 'honour killing' angle behind the brutal killing of 29-year-old Abdul Hakim, who was killed in Adoli village of Bulandshahr district on November 22.
State Inspector General (crime) Sandeep Salunke refuted the claim of Hakim's widow Mehawish, who had charged her own family members of getting her husband murdered because they were opposed to their marriage after the two eloped in 2010.
The statement comes after the centre's missive to the Uttar Pradesh government asking it to submit a report on the suspected honour killing.
Significantly, Hakim and Mehawish had appeared in Bollywood star Amir Khan's popular TV serial 'Satyamev Jayate' to focus on the menace of honour killings in Western UP where the local society was rabidly intolerant against marriages outside caste, or community, locally referred to as 'khap'.
Amir Khan too went to Meerut on Monday and sought immediate intervention of the authorities to ensure justice to the poor widow, whose allegations were being dismissed by the UP cops.
"There was no clash between Hakim and Mahwish's immediate family. Even the FIR registered by Mehawish does not accuse any immediate family member of the widow," said Salunke.
He sought to argue, "If it were a question of "honour", then at least one member of Mehawish's immediate family would have been named by her in the FIR."
Preliminary investigations point a finger of suspicion at Hakim' s own nephew Salman, with whom Hakim had a heated altercation, following which he approached a court to seek police protection. However, the court advised him to approach the local police, whom he never contacted for any assistance or protection.
Mehawish, however, continues to insist that her husband was killed by her own relatives, who were vehemently opposed to her wedding with Hakim and had time and again issued threats of dire consequences ever since they got married two years ago.
It may be recalled that shortly after the couple appeared in the serial, they mustered courage to go to their village from where they had eloped to find a safe haven in Delhi .
The woman's family, which had raised the main objection to the marriage as she belonged to a socially "superior" 'khap', was stated to have not taken well to the couple's decision to return home. However, initially they kept quiet, but shortly thereafter some of her family members had a confrontation with Hakim.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home R P N Singh said in New Delhi , "The Union government was seriously contemplating over seeking a Constitutional amendment to deal sternly with honour killings."