Haryanvi singer and dancer Harshita Dahiya had joined a gangster’s group in Haryana and had cases pending against her, police said, even as they claimed on Saturday that her brother-in-law has “admitted” to having got her killed.
Panipat district Superintendent of Police Rahul Sharma said that Dinesh Karala, the brother-in-law of Harshita and a notorious gangster, who has been brought to Panipat from the Jhajjar prison to investigate her killing earlier this week, has admitted to a conspiracy to get her killed.
The police believe that it was a case of ‘supari’ (contract) killing.
Harshita, 22, an emerging Haryanvi singer and dancer, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Panipat district of Haryana on Tuesday while she was returning after a performance in village Chamrara.
Police sources said that investigations have revealed that Harshita had joined the gang of another notorious gangster Ravinder to avenge her rape by Karala (her brother-in-law) six years back.
A case of rape was filed against Karala by Harshita’s mother, Premo.
Karala, in 2014, killed Premo, and Harshita and her sister(Karala’s wife) were the eyewitnesses. Karala is currently lodged in the Jhajjar prison in another case. He was brought to Panipat on Thursday from Jhajjar jail on a production warrant.
Karala was produced before a court, which sent him to four-days police remand.
Police say that Harshita was involved in two crime cases as part of Ravinder’s gang.
She was stopped in Panipat district, around 165 km from here, on Tuesday and shot five-six times from close range while she was coming back in a car. Three other people accompanying her were not harmed.
Harshita, who belonged to neighbouring Sonepat district, had posted a mobile video on social media recently in which she had pointed out that she was getting death threats but said she was not afraid. Harshita was a performer who sang Haryanvi ‘Ragini’ songs and was also a dancer.