Mumbai: 4 minors to be tried as adults in Govandi honour-killing case

Karan Chaurasiya and Gulnaz Khan were lured to the city by the woman’s family. File pics

The Juvenile Justice Board has ordered the four teens arrested in the Govandi honour-killing case to be tried as adults and has handed over their custody to the sessions court (children's court). The Board concluded that the suspects - in the age group 16 to 18 - allegedly tried to destroy the evidence after committing the crime. Hence, they had full knowledge of their act while committing the crime. The man, Karan Chaurasiya, was first stabbed in the stomach and then held down while his throat was slit. His wife, Gulnaz Khan, was strangled and her father then smashed her head in.

Five of the nine suspects detained by the police in the brutal murder of a young interfaith couple were minors. However, four who are above 16 years will now be tried as adults. While the fifth was under the age of 16 so he is considered as a minor," said police sources.

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Three (of the nine) accused who were arrested initially

Public Prosecutor Rupali Gothwal said, "As per the law, in case of a heinous offence alleged to have been committed by a child, who has completed or is above the age of sixteen years, the Board shall conduct a preliminary assessment with regard to his mental and physical capacity to commit such offence, ability to understand the consequences of the offence and the circumstances in which he allegedly committed the offence, and may pass an order in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of Section 18. Provided that for such an assessment, the Board may take the assistance of experienced psychologists or psychosocial workers or other experts," she said.

According to the police, the murder of the couple was reported in October 2023, and the FIR was registered by Govandi police. The couple was identified as Karan Ramesh Chandra Chaurasiya, 22 and Gulnaz, 20. The accused persons include family members of Gulnaz including her father and brothers. Gulnaz's family had harboured resentment over the interfaith marriage and had conveyed their disapproval to the couple several times. When these warnings went unheeded the family adopted a softer approach pretending to have forgiven the couple and wanted to patch-up.

The woman's father, (left) Gora Khan and (right) her brother, Salman Khan

Karan hailed from Chilla village in the Banda district in Uttar Pradesh. Karan, who had lost his parents, lived with his two brothers. Both his brothers left Uttar Pradesh and moved to Delhi for work, while Karan operated a paan shop in the village. Gulnaz, who lived with her six siblings and parents, lived on the same street as Karan's shop. They saw each other frequently. Over time, they fell in love and decided to get married. "Gulnaz, the eldest girl in her family, knew she wouldn't receive permission for the marriage at home, so she decided to elope with Karan," said an official familiar with the investigation. "The couple eloped in December 2022 and got married in a temple in Madhya Pradesh. Afterwards, they moved to Delhi and resided with Karan's brother for a few months before returning to Chilla village in UP."

After Karan and Gulnaz returned to the village messages started arriving for Gulnaz to return home. However, as they lived in a predominantly Hindu area, no one from Gulnaz's family attempted to meet her. When attempts to convince her failed the couple received warnings of dire consequences. Fearing for their safety, Karan and Gulnaz stopped going out of the village.

Meanwhile, Gulnaz's brother Salman Khan, 22, secured a job in a garment factory in Dharavi. His father, Gora, would come to Mumbai with his wife and reside there for 3-4 months before returning to UP. Six months ago, when Gora came to Dharavi, he and his son discussed the plan to murder the couple. From that point on, they began reaching out to Gulnaz, telling her that they were ready to forgive everything and would help them settle in Mumbai. Gulnaz repeatedly turned down the offer, sensing something amiss. However, it was Karan who eventually advised her to meet the family once and conveyed their readiness to come to the city.

Gora Khan informed his son Salman that he would lure the couple to Mumbai and he should be prepared. "Gora went to the village and accompanied his daughter Gulnaz and Karan to Mumbai. On October 11, they boarded the train in UP and reached Mumbai in the early hours of October 13," said a police officer. "After reaching Mumbai, they all had refreshments, and Gora asked his wife, who had come to receive them at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, to take Gulnaz home while he took Karan to Govandi to show him the rented home he had arranged and buy some clothes."

Gora and Salman took Karan to Govandi by the suburban train. They disembarked at Govandi railway station and walked towards the Telecom Factory. In the meantime, Salman had asked his brother and friends to be at the well at a desolate spot in Govandi. Upon reaching the well, Karan was first stabbed in the stomach and then they held him down and slit his throat. They took his wallet and mobile phone and threw him into the well to die.

When Gora and his son returned to their Dharavi home, Gulnaz realised that her husband was not with them. When she asked where he was, Gora concocted a story, saying that Karan didn't like the room and had returned to Uttar Pradesh. As Gulnaz continued asking about her husband Gora told her to get ready and arranged a fleet cab owned by one of Salman's friends and took her on the pretext of dropping her to the station, but instead drove her to Kalamboli. While driving, Gora strangled her and her body was thrown from the car. When the driver started the car and drove a few metres, Gora asked him to stop and came back to smash Gulnaz's head.