30/06/2010 Party want new law
An opposition party in India has called for stricter laws to stop honour killings.
The right-of-centre BJP made the demand despite the Indian government already announcing plans to introduce new laws to tackle honour killings.
“The BJP demands that fast track courts must be set up to deal with such cases so that such practices do not continue, these murders should be dealt with strictly,” BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said in a statement.
The ruling Congress party announced that it was in favour of bringing in new legislation to put a stop to a growing increase of honour related murders last week.
“We are deeply concerned over the recent spate of violence and murder in the name of honour killings, particularly around the NCR (National Capital Region). We believe time has come to take a national view in this matter and if the existing criminal laws of the land are not sufficient, the government should consider a suitable law.” Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan told The Times of India.
The recent flurry of high profile honour killings in regions ranging from New Delhi to Uttar Pradesh has also led the Supreme Court to send notices to eight state governments; the notice asked the governments to respond with action to curb honour violence. There is also growing concern over the influence of ‘khap panchayats’ or caste councils, who many believe are ultimately responsible for many endorsing and ordering honour killings.
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23/06/2010: Blackburn Police to reveal murder details
Police in Blackburn are expected to release details of a suspected honour killing today.
The victim, a 20 year old Asian man named locally as Suleil Ahmed, was found dead in an alleyway in the Little Harwood area of the city in the early hours of yesterday. A formal post mortem report and identification are expected later this afternoon. Police were alerted to the scene when a witness saw the victim being chased through the streets by another man at around one in the morning.
Detectives from the major incident room at Blackburn are now trying to piece together events leading up to the attack. Lancashire police lead inspector Detective Superintendent Neil Hunter said: “I have a dedicated team of detectives working on this case and it is imperative that we find the person responsible for this attack as soon as possible.”
Police were unable to confirm local newspaper reports that said a man dressed in black was seen fleeing the scene carrying a foot-long knife. They also refused to rule out the possibility that the murder was motivated by honour or revenge.
DSI Hunter said: “Whilst this investigation is still in its early stages, it is fast moving and we are following up a number of lines of enquiry. The priority line of enquiry at the moment is to identify this man and start putting together a picture of his last movements.
16/06/2010: Police will hold talks over road show
Police in a forced marriage hot spot have pledged to hold talks about hosting an event to raise awareness.
West Yorkshire Police were criticised earlier this week after The Independent reported that they had failed to offer help in hosting an awareness road show organised by the Karma Nirvana charity, despite their area being identified as a key danger area
.A spokesman for the force said: “We have received a letter and we will be talking to Karma Nirvana regarding their proposal in due course.” West Yorkshire was one of 11 communities contacted by the charity. Several other police forces in key areas including Leicester and Kent have provided support in the form of attendances from senior officers and provision of venues.
The road shows are being hosted throughout the country in an attempt to help professionals, including police officers, recognise the early warning signs of forced marriage.
Karma Nirvana have responded to the police statement by arguing that the timing of these events is crucial as a large number of forced marriages happen over the summer period, Anna Hardy from the charity said: “We get an increased number of calls from youngsters at this time of year, they might be going on holiday with their families but think that they’re being taken for another reason.”
In 2006 250 children in Bradford, part of West Yorkshire Police’s jurisdiction, failed to return to school after the summer holidays. Karma Nirvana claims that 33 of these children are still missing and unaccounted for.
09/06/2010: Karma Nirvana Hits The Road
A road show aimed at raising awareness of forced marriages is taking place in Leicester today.
The show is being run by the Derby based charity Karma Nirvana and aims to advise teachers and other professionals on how to spot the signs that a child might be at risk.
Anup Manota from Karma Nirvana said “it’s about raising awareness and telling teachers, police officers and social workers what the triggers are. For example, if you get a bright student and their schoolwork starts to lack, that could be a sign of family pressure.”
The charity is staging a number of similar events around the country to coincide with the run up to the school holidays, a time when many young girls go missing. Mr Manota said: “In the run up to the summer period we tend to see an increase in calls, mainly from children of 15 years old or so, letting us know there’s a family holidays arranged and they fear they may be forced in to a marriage.
Leicestershire Constabulary DI Pete Williams believes many cases of forced marriage go unreported, he said: “There will be girls sitting in classrooms now, wondering whether they will be coming back after the summer holidays and they won’t talk to their friends because they don’t know who they can trust.”
The road show will feature presentations from Karma Nirvana founder and forced marriage survivor Jasvinder Sanghera and other surviving victims as well as senior figures from local health authorities and police.
DI Williams added: “Events like this are a natural progression of what we’ve been doing for the last two years. Raising awareness and getting the message into the affected communities in a language they understand.”
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