The case has stirred unease in Janta Mazdoor Colony in Welcome area, where neighbours describe it as a tragic case of ‘reverse love jihad’
NEW DELHI — In a grim turn to what began as a defiant love story, a 23-year-old woman named Heena Khan was allegedly strangled to death by her husband Deepak in the dimly lit lanes of Welcome, northeast Delhi, earlier this week.
The case has stirred unease in Janta Mazdoor Colony, where neighbours describe it as a tragic case of ‘reverse love jihad’ — a Muslim woman who married a Hindu man against both families’ wishes, only to lose her life three years later at his hands. ‘Love jihad’ is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory alleging that Muslim men systematically lure non-Muslim women (particularly Hindu) into romantic relationships, marry them, and force conversion to Islam. It is generally considered a manufactured narrative.
Around 1:30 am, the silence at Welcome police station was broken when Deepak, a 28-year-old street food vendor with oil still on his hands from the day’s work, walked in unprompted. According to an officer on duty, he looked hollow-eyed and simply stated that he had killed his wife, media reports said on Sunday.
Acting on his confession, a police team rushed through the narrow bylanes to the couple’s cramped rented room. They found Heena lying motionless on the cold floor, her dupatta discarded nearby. She was rushed to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital, but doctors pronounced her dead on arrival.
The body has been sent for post-mortem to confirm the exact cause and time of death, though preliminary observations point to strangulation. Police have lodged an FIR under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, which deals with murder. Forensic experts combed the one-room home for hours, sealing bags of evidence — bedsheets, a steel tumbler, and other circumstantial material — for lab analysis.
Officers say quarrels had become routine in the household. On the night of the incident, tempers flared again after Deepak returned home close to midnight.
“In a fit of rage, he strangled his wife,” a senior police officer said, describing the scene as “disturbingly swift and final.”
For Heena’s family, the grief is compounded by what they call years of warning signs. Her mother, voice trembling outside the hospital mortuary, alleged a pattern of abuse. “He used to beat her regularly and was addicted to alcohol. My daughter worked to keep the house running, but he did nothing,” she said.
She further claimed that Heena had been coerced into the marriage itself. “She told me he was pressuring her and threatened her before they eloped,” the mother alleged, wiping away tears with the end of her saree.
The couple had married three years ago, turning their backs on both families, who opposed the interfaith match. Now, those same families are united in shock. “We had no idea this would happen. We just want justice for our daughter,” said a relative, as a small crowd gathered outside the colony, whispering about the brutality that had unfolded behind closed doors.
Locals, many of whom knew Deepak from his roadside chaat stall, stood in stunned clusters as news spread through the morning. The cart he once pushed through the market now sits chained and empty.
Deepak remains in police custody as investigators piece together the final hours of Heena Khan’s life.
