A district court in Sonepat sentenced a man to life imprisonment, convicting him of killing of his 18-year-old daughter in 2021 as the victim married against his wishes.

While pronouncing the judgment the court of additional district and sessions judge Jasbir Singh also imposed a fine of ₹1.7 lakh on the convict. The court convicted him of murder, kidnapping and destroying evidence.

According to the police records, the victim had married a friend of her father, at a temple in Meerut on November 24, 2020. After the wedding the convict left Sonepat and moved to Rohtak. On July 6, 2021, he called his daughter saying he wanted to celebrate his birthday. The girl’s husband dropped her near Rai police station from where her father took her away.

When she did not return, her husband filed a complaint. Police arrested the convict on July 28, 2021. During investigation he reportedly admitted strangling his daughter to death with a dupatta in a Sonepat village and dumping her body in a canal near Meerut and burning her belongings. The body has never been recovered.

The victim’s husband, the complainant and prime witness, was shot dead on April 22, 2022, outside Sonepat court while arriving to depose. A separate case was registered against him for his involvement in another murder.