Ved Pal had married Sonia, 18, in March this year against the wishes of her family. Her family and villagers opposed the marriage saying that both belonged to the same 'gotra' (clan) and were hence to be considered brother and sister.

The killing of Ved Pal comes even as the administration in another Haryana district, Jhajjar, is grappling with a case of a village council (panchayat) ordering the ouster of a family of a young couple in Dharana village who also married within the same gotra.

So-called honour killings are not new in Haryana, especially in areas dominated by the Jat community.

In June 2007, the bodies of a young couple, Manoj and Babli, were recovered from a canal in Kaithal district after they were murdered and thrown into the canal by relatives of the girl.

In Karnal district last year, Jasbir Singh, 27, and his companion Sunita, who was six months pregnant, were murdered after being strangled in their village. The girl's family was opposed to their daughter, a divorcee, living with Jasbir.

The family threw the bodies of the couple outside their house to send a message to other villagers that going against wishes of the community and family would not be tolerated.