Chandigarh, June 15 (IANS) A young couple was hacked to death by the girl’s brother at their home in a village near Banur town in Punjab. The cold-blooded murder Saturday night was committed by Sarabjit Singh to avenge the honour of his family as his sister had married against the family’s wishes to the boy from an upper caste.

While the boy, Suresh Kumar, died on the spot, his wife Sunwinder succumbed to her injuries at the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) here.

Sarabjit attacked the couple with an axe while they were sleeping. He was arrested.

The couple were married February this year in the Punjab and Haryana High Court here. The girl’s family, which is from the Dalit community, was against her marriage to the upper caste boy of the same village, Gajju Khera, 25 km from here.

The girl’s family has been absconding after the kilings, police officials said. They added that teams have been dispatched to various places to trace the family.