Bhind man who shot newly married daughter claims no remorse:Accused tells police social taunts forced him to act; says daughter refused to return to marital home

The father accused of shooting dead his newly married daughter in Bhind district has told the police that he has no remorse for his actions, claiming he acted to protect the family’s “honour”. Munnesh Dhanuk, arrested for the murder of his 21-year-old daughter Nidhi in Khiriya Thapak village, told investigators that she was unwilling to return to her matrimonial home after marriage, which, according to him, subjected the family to social taunts. “She was not ready to go to her in-laws’ house. Our honour was being questioned in society. After her behaviour, I could not live anyway,” he reportedly said during police questioning. According to the police, Munnesh remained largely silent in custody on Wednesday, did not eat food through the day, and drank water only once or twice. He was seen repeatedly wiping tears while being questioned. “I loved my daughter very much, but she would not listen to me. I tried several times to convince her to settle down in her marital home, but she refused,” he told the police. Body recovered from mustard field Nidhi’s body was recovered from a mustard field in the village. The accused told the police that his daughter had not disclosed any relationship before or after marriage and had only insisted that she did not want to live with her in-laws. “She said she wanted to live life on her own terms. Because of this, both my family and my in-laws were being taunted. When she did not listen despite repeated counselling, I planned to kill her,” he said, according to police sources. The body has been sent for post-mortem examination. Went missing days after marriage According to the police, Nidhi, a resident of Khiriya Thapak village, was married to Devu Dhanuk, a resident of Gudagudi ka Naka in Gwalior, on December 11. On December 28, the couple went shopping at Maharaj Bada in Gwalior. After having chole-bhature, Nidhi went missing while her husband stepped away briefly to fetch water. Her husband later lodged a missing person complaint at the Gwalior Kotwali. Traced to Indore, returned voluntarily On January 5, after Nidhi activated a new SIM card, the cyber cell traced her location to Indore. She was contacted by the police and appeared before Gwalior Kotwali on January 7, where she stated that she was an adult and had left on her own will. Police said that after this, her father remained in regular contact with her and continued to pressure her to return to her matrimonial home. On January 13, Munnesh allegedly persuaded her to return to the village and later took her to a mustard field at night, where he shot her dead with a pistol. Accused surrendered after murder After committing the crime, the accused informed his family members and surrendered before the police. The last rites of the deceased have been performed. Mehgaon police station in-charge Mahesh Sharma said the accused is citing “social prestige” as the motive. The police are now examining the victim’s call detail records to ascertain whom she was in contact with before her death.