Honour killing Uttar Pradesh: Father drowns daughter to death over pregnancy outside marriage

A man has been arrested for allegedly killing his pregnant daughter. Police say he drowned her in Agra's Chambal River. He allegedly acted to avoid social stigma.

The victim, Khushi, was 18 and unmarried. She was reportedly four months pregnant at the time. She lived with her family in Delhi's Tigri area.

Her family originally hailed from Basauni village nearby. They discovered her pregnancy about a month ago. She was reportedly in a relationship with a local minor.

Police identified the accused as Lakhpat Singh Baghel, aged 52. He allegedly conspired in the honour killing with a relative. That relative has also been arrested by the police.

"During the probe, police found that the teenager had allegedly become pregnant from a relationship outside marriage. Her father, allegedly, feared social disgrace because of the pregnancy," PTI quoted a senior police officer as stating.

A PCR call was received at Tigri police station. This happened on 31 July, prompting an investigation. Police registered a case of abduction and murder.

Investigators say the father deeply feared social disgrace. Her pregnancy outside marriage reportedly triggered this fear.

According to police, the accused brought Khushi from Delhi. This happened on 28 July under a false pretext. They claimed to arrange a pregnancy termination procedure, The Times of India reported.

The trio stayed overnight at a relative's home. The next morning, they travelled to a riverside ghat. There, they allegedly forced her towards the water.

She initially refused to enter the river herself. Police allege the men then forcibly drowned her. They reportedly fabricated a suicide story afterwards.

Photographs of a mock cremation were also shown. These were intended to mislead investigators and family members.

Delhi Police registered charges under the relevant BNS sections. This includes murder and destruction of evidence charges.

During interrogation, the father confessed to the killing. He admitted to acting from fear of social stigma.

Despite extensive search efforts, her body remains unrecovered. Divers and a steamer were deployed in the Chambal River. A joint team from Delhi and Agra assisted in the process.

Agra DCP (East Zone) Abhishek Agarwal confirmed the ongoing search operations.

"We have brought the father and son-in-law on custody remand. Search operations are underway with the help of divers to recover the victim's body," TOI quoted DCP Agarwal as saying.

Honour killing in India

According to Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, reliable nationwide data on honour killings remains scarce and inconsistent. The NCRB started tracking this category only in 2014. That year recorded just 18 cases nationally.

Later figures show 25 cases in 2020, 33 in 2021. These official numbers likely underestimate the true scale, according to the think tank.

The Home Ministry cited 145 incidents between 2017 and 2019. Yet, one Tamil Nadu NGO recorded 195 cases alone. This gap suggests many murders go unclassified or unpunished.

Recent cases have emerged from Uttar Pradesh and Punjab. State response often remains slow and inadequate.

In 2025, the Supreme Court linked one such murder to caste hierarchy. It called for strong punishment against honour killings.