"Honour killings" are common in parts of South Asia, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and some regions of India
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - Police in India have arrested three brothers for hacking their 15-year-old sister to death and dumping her body in a nearby river in a case of "honour killing", the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
"Honour killings" - when a person is murdered by a family member out of belief that the victim has brought shame on the family, clan or community - are common in parts of South Asia, such as Pakistan, Afghanistan and some regions of India.
According to the report, the three brothers, all in their mid-twenties, were unhappy with their sister's relationship with a youth in their village in the region of Noida, located on outskirts of the capital New Delhi.
"We have gathered the youth's affair with the girl had been objected to by the brothers. We also have information that they killed her on finding her with the youth," an unnamed police officer was quoted as saying.
Police said the youth had also taken "objectionable" pictures of their sister and had distributed them in the village, enraging the brothers further.
The report said the brothers confessed killing their sister at the end of December and then throwing her body in the Yamuna river. The body and weapon used are still to be recovered.
The United Nations Population Fund estimates 5,000 women are victims of honour killings every year.
(Editing by Nita Bhalla and Maria Caspani)
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