These ancient traditions need to be rooted out.

She was a lovely girl, very innocent and always used to read the Koran. God knows what madness prompted her to run away with that boy. We’re all very sad at what happened.”

It was obvious I was going to get little more out of the family so we left and headed to the office of the local policeman for a little more clarity.

“We got to hear about the incident and decided to act,” said police superintendent Sharad Sachan.

“The young couple were legally married and therefore entitled to live together. Their parents and the villagers had no right to put pressure on them and force them to commit suicide. They are guilty of a crime and we will do all we can to build a case against them.”

As we headed back to Delhi, it was clear that with a wall of secrecy descending around the whole incident, the police were going to have their work cut out.

They may have the law on their side but the villagers are defending ancient codes and traditions that remain untouched by modernity. And they will fight to keep it that way

via BBC NEWS | South Asia | India’s Romeo and Juliet tragedy.