Pregnant Teen Beheaded By Brother, Mother For Getting Married Against Their Will

KEY POINTS

The 19-year-old's family disapproved of the marriage as her husband's family was poorer than theirs, a report said
The mother held the victim's legs while her brother attacked and beheaded her
The girl's husband was able to escape the attack

A teenager in India was beheaded by her younger brother and mother after she got pregnant and married against her parents’ wishes.

The incident happened in Vaijapur, Maharashtra. The 19-year-old girl had invited her mother and brother for tea in her husband’s home Sunday. She was preparing them tea when her mother held her legs and her brother attacked her with a scythe.

"That is when the brother took a scythe and struck her four times and beheaded her. They then picked up the head and kept it outside the house in the yard and left the body inside," Kailash Prajapati, a senior police official, was quoted as saying by CNN.

The victim’s 21-year-old husband was also at home at the time of the incident. He said he was feeling too unwell to work but woke up when he heard a commotion. He was also attacked by the pair but was able to escape, the report said.

Police officers said the attack came after the girl had a court marriage with her lover in July without her family’s consent. Both the victim and her husband belonged to the same caste, but the woman’s family disapproved of their marriage as his family was poorer than theirs, BBC reported.

The victim’s brother and mother surrendered to police after the beheading. The brother, who is under the age of 18, was sent to a remand home for juveniles. However, authorities hinted at plans to contest the son’s age in court after they found a certificate showing he was already an adult, according to the report. The mother was sent to police custody.

The victim’s brother and mother have yet to be officially charged for the crime, but a police report listed murder charges for both, pending an investigation. Police officers are also trying to retrieve a “selfie” that the mother-son duo took with the victim’s head from a phone surrendered to them, The Indian Express reported.

According to the CNN report, the facts in the police report “fit the pattern of an honor killing.”

The so-called “honor killing” refers to the murder of a woman by male family members who claim the victim brought dishonor to the family name.

India reported 23 “honor killings” throughout 2020, according to data from the country’s National Crime Records Bureau.