Morena, Oct 2 (IANS) In a case that has plunged the Chambal-Gwalior region of Madhya Pradesh into grief and outrage, police have arrested Bharat Sikarwar and his wife for the alleged murder of their 17-year-old daughter, Divya Sikarwar, a Class 12 student.

Alongside the arrest of her parents, police have registered a case against 23 others, naming 11 individuals, while the remaining suspects remain unidentified.

The incident, suspected to be an “honour killing”, has reignited fierce debate over caste orthodoxy and the violent lengths to which families go to preserve it.

Divya was reportedly shot dead inside her home on the night of September 23. Her decomposed body was recovered five days later from the Kunwari River, wrapped in plastic and tethered to a stone — an attempt, perhaps, to sink both the evidence and the shame, police officials said.

Speaking to IANS, Assistant Superintendent of Police Surendra Pal Singh Dabar confirmed the arrest of her parents. “We have lodged an FIR in the case and have arrested Divya’s father and her mother following the autopsy report. At least ten other people have been made accomplices in the case who helped Divya’s father dispose of her body without informing the police. The weapon — a licensed revolver used in the murder — has been seized,” said Dabar.

The crime took place in Shivnagar locality under the Civil Lines Police Station of Morena. Investigators say Bharat, also known as Bantu, designed the killing with chilling calculation.

He allegedly timed the act to coincide with the evening Aarti, when loudspeakers blared devotional chants outside his home. As Divya stepped onto the balcony to watch the ritual, her father fired a shot. The gunshot, muffled by the din of religious music, went unnoticed — except by her younger sister, who witnessed the horror and ran out screaming.

Bharat Sikarwar, emerging with a scarf tied around Divya’s head, claimed she was unconscious. A neighbour rushed in with his car, and Bharat placed Divya inside, ostensibly to take her to the hospital. But midway, he diverted the route toward a village, telling the driver she had died.

Sensing suspicion, Bharat transferred Divya’s body into another vehicle and promised to perform her “Jal Dag” — a water cremation. Later, he claimed Divya had shot herself. But forensic experts contradicted this, citing a point-blank gunshot wound to the head.

The family’s story shifted from electrocution to suicide, deepening the mystery and suspicion. The family never declared Divya missing.

The post-mortem was conducted at Gwalior Medical College due to the advanced state of decomposition.

Police suspect Divya’s relationship with a young man from a socially disadvantaged caste may have provoked the fatal attack.

The family claimed Divya managed household finances and had access to a pistol registered under her uncle’s name, kept in her cupboard, police officials said.

This tragedy is not isolated. In June, a grandfather in Morena allegedly shot his granddaughter over an inter-caste relationship. In January, a 20-year-old woman, Tanu Gurjar, was killed by her father and cousin in Gwalior.

–IANS

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