Gulf Today/ Agencies

In yet another horrendous incident, a man beheaded his 17-year-old daughter and reached the police station with her severed head in Hardoi, UttarPradesh, India.

The incident took place on Wednesday night and the man was allegedly upset over his daughter's alleged affair with a youth whom he disliked.

Hardoi Superintendent of police, Anurag Vats, told reporters that the accused, Sarvesh Kumar of Pandeytara village under Majhila police station, has been arrested.

"Sarvesh is a vegetable vendor. A few days ago, he spotted his daughter in a compromising position with a youth.

He made up his mind to teach his daughter a lesson. Sarvesh's wife has also testified this in her statement to the police," the SP said.

According to police, Sarvesh reach home, late on Wednesday afternoon, and beheaded his daughter with a chopper.

Panic gripped the area when Sarvesh walked down to Majhila police station, about two kilometres away from his village, holding the girl's severed head in his hand.

Police said the girl, a student of Class 12, was the eldest among four children — three girls and a boy.

A video of a police constable holding the head of the girl went viral on social media, following which IG Lucknow range, Laxmi Singh took cognizance and suspended the constable deployed at Mahila police station.

She said that responsibility of the police is to maintain law and order and also must carry themselves in a disciplined manner.

"The constable was holding the beheaded girl's head and taking a stroll in the police station," she said.

Last month, a woman was burnt alive by family members over an inter-faith relationship in Uttar Pradesh, local media reported, quoting police officials.

"Daughters in India are seen as a sign of family honour, which results in such crimes," said Madhu Garg, vice president of All India Democratic Women Association's Uttar Pradesh chapter.

"The issue of the right to choice needs immediate attention and a separate law should be made for dealing with honour killing," she added.

India recorded 24 honour killings in 2019, with Uttar Pradesh accounting for no cases.

Two years earlier, the state registered 14 of the country's 92 such killings, recent government crime data shows.

Campaigners say government statistics on honour killing mask the scale of the crime, with women at greater risk than men.

"Almost 70% of the victims in honour killings are women, and almost all of them are from the upper caste," said Arockiya Samy Kathir, founder of non-profit Evidence, which has for years worked on honour killings in South India.