Woman Murdered By Her Parents Because She Married Without Permission

In sad, awful news, a 26-year-old Indian woman was murdered by her parents because they were angry that she married a man without their permission.

P. Deepthi was found strangled to death on Sunday, in the town of Guntur. According to police, the parents confessed to the crime. They convinced their daughter, who was in another town with her husband, that they had forgiven her and asked her to come visit them. They told her they were ready to carry out certain rituals to finalize the union, luring her to her death with promises of forgiveness and acceptance. This is so heartbreaking. Via Fox Latino:

The couple, who worked together at a computer company, wed last Friday in the regional capital of Hyderabad, and when they arrived at the village on Saturday, the young woman went to stay with her parents and her husband checked into a hostal, a police spokesman told the PTI news agency on condition of anonymity.

“Kiran Kumar – the bridegroom – tried to call his bride, P. Deepthi, by mobile phone Sunday morning, but getting no answer, he alerted the police who broke down the door to the house and found the murdered woman on the bed,” the police spokesman said.

Her parents fled from police, but later turned themselves in to police. According to Fox Latino, the parents were upset because she married a man outside of her caste.

In India, above all in rural areas, arranged marriages are common, and the parents, in case their sons and daughters want to choose their partners, normally discard candidates of a different religion or caste. If the young couple chooses not to accept their parents’ decision, harsh punishment of that offense is often seen by at least one of the two families as the best way to redeem family honor.