A judge in India has sentenced eight men to death and 20 others to life imprisonment for three so-called honour killings that took place in 1991. The men were found guilty of murdering a Dalit boy and a girl from a higher caste who had eloped together, as well as the boy’s cousin.  All three were set alight and hanged, the court in Uttar Pradesh state heard.

Earlier this year India’s Supreme Court ordered states to stamp out honour killings, saying people found guilty of such crimes should face execution. Convictions in such cases often carry life sentences.

Vijander, a Dalit boy, had eloped with his girlfriend, Roshni. She was a member of the higher-caste Jaat community and from the same village, Mehrana, near the border with Haryana state. The killings took place on 22 March 1991 and were brutal – the court heard how the genitals of the deceased were burned before they were hanged from a tree.

The case came to light because the parents of the boys lodged a case against the council for ordering the killings, our correspondent says.

Honour killers face death for 1991 murders

Report by Adhir Roy Chowdury