#HaryanaMurder: Tauseef killed Nikita as she was marrying another man
The main accused in the murder of 21-year-old Nikita Tomar in Haryana, Tauseef, has confessed to the crime and told police that her imminent wedding with someone else drove him to kill her. Tauseef also told police that he spoke to Nikita on October 24-25 night for 17 odd minutes. He, along with his accomplice, Rehan, was sent to two-day police remand. Here's more.
Tauseef tried to kidnap Nikita, failed, then shot her dead
On Monday, Nikita was attacked as she exited her college in Ballabgarh, Faridabad. Tauseef (not Taufeeq as reported earlier) tried to abduct her and after she resisted, shot her as her friend watched helplessly. His accomplice Rehan was seen coming out of the car and taking Tauseef away. Nikita was rushed to the hospital but died. Her final rites were held last evening.
"Revenge and impending marriage" drove Tauseef to kill Nikita
After the murder, Haryana Police formed ten teams to nab the accused and managed to catch both the men by Tuesday afternoon. During interrogation, Tauseef is learned to have told police that he killed Nikita as she was planning to marry someone else. He also told cops, "I couldn't study medicine because I was arrested. And hence I took revenge."
In 2018, Tauseef had kidnapped Nikita, pressurized her for marriage
Tauseef was referring to his arrest in 2018 after a case was registered by Nikita's family for kidnapping her. Her father told IE that years ago, Tauseef offered to drop Nikita home and she agreed, considering they knew one another. "However, Tauseef took her to his home, locked the door, and started trying to pressure her to marry him," he said.
Nikita was found at Tauseef's home, he was arrested
The father, Mool Chand Tomar, said they subsequently approached police. Later, Nikita was found at his home, within a few hours, and Tauseef was arrested. However, the family didn't pursue the case, assuming that their daughter was safe. For two years since the kidnapping incident, Tauseef didn't harass Nikita, claimed the family, but he started pressurizing her for marriage lately.
Daughter shot for resisting abduction attempts: Father
"He once again started pressuring her to marry him, asking her to convert to Islam. This is what happened on Monday. Tauseef asked her to go with him. When she refused, he tried to abduct her and shot her when she resisted," Tomar said.
Family and friends came on streets, demanded capital punishment
A case has been registered under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 34 (criminal act done by several persons), and Section 25 (carrying prohibited arms) of the Arms Act. On Tuesday, the bereaved family blocked the Ballabhgarh-Sohna Road asking for capital punishment for the accused. "We want him to be hanged, nothing less will do," the deceased's brother Naveen said. Haryana Minister Anil Vij assured justice.
Nikita wanted to join the Armed forces
Remembering his young daughter, who was a final year B.Com student, Tomar said, she wanted to join the Army. "She had recently taken the Air Force Common Admission Test and had started preparing for the National Defense Academy exam, and was planning to focus on this once she was done with her college exams," the father said about his "sincere and ambitious" daughter.
