A 21-year-old woman from Nanded performed a symbolic marriage ceremony using the blood of her slain boyfriend. Aanchal Mamidwar said she wanted to make her love for Saksham Tate immortal, even after he was allegedly killed by her own family over caste differences.
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Alleged honour killing over caste
Aanchal said tearfully to reporters that her family had opposed her three-year relationship with Saksham, a Scheduled Caste. “My family killed him… I married him to make our love immortal,” she said. "We were together for three years. My family never agreed because of caste. They said he must convert to Hinduism; he even agreed. But they only wanted a chance to kill him", she further said.
She also claimed that her brother had earlier tried to file a false police complaint against Saksham, which she refused. “The policemen told my brother, ‘Instead of making false cases, why don’t you actually kill him before coming to us?’ My brother took it as a challenge and killed Saksham,” she said. This claim has not been verified by police, who say the matter is under investigation.
As per a report by the Hindustan Times, investigators say that the following sequence of events likely took place:
Saksham, 20, was standing with friends in Nanded's old Ganj area on Thursday evening.
A fight started between him and the brother of Aanchal, Himesh Mamidwar.
Himesh allegedly shot Saksham in the ribs and then hit him on the head with a tile or stone, killing him instantaneously.
Himesh, his brother Sahil, and their father Gajanan were arrested. A total of six people have been booked under charges, including murder, rioting, Arms Act violations, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
Ritual before cremation
Eyewitnesses captured Aanchal performing rituals at Saksham’s home before his final rites.
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Applying turmeric to his body. Putting vermillion on her forehead, stating that it was mixed with his blood and stating she would live with the Tate family as their daughter-in-law,
“Our love won, even in his death. My father and brothers lost,” she said, adding, "I want them to be hanged. I will stay in Saksham’s house forever". The visuals soon went viral on social media, triggering a fresh round of public debate on caste-based violence and honour killings in India.
