Chandigarh, May 10: A divorced 23-year-old and her lover were strangled and their bodies put on display as a “befitting lesson” for others, but Haryana police refused to term the murders a case of honour killing by the woman’s family.

Police sources in Balla, Karnal district, said the family of Sunita, who was expecting, knew about her “affair” with Jasbir, 26, despite her marriage to another person in 2005.

“It is plain and simple murder…. The couple (both Jats) knew each other for years and Sunita’s parents knew about their relationship,” Karnal SSP A.S. Chawla said.

According to Sunita’s sister Neelam, Sunita — whose husband Manjit had divorced her following revelations of her “affair” — and Jasbir had been living with her for the past six months. On Thursday, she said, a group of about 30 people took away the couple in separate vehicles.

Their bodies were allegedly put on “display” outside Sunita’s home yesterday morning.

A district official said many murders in the state are passed of as honour killings when the crime is over land or property. “In this case, no khap (same community) panchayat had decreed that the couple be killed. When khap panchayats decree the death sentence, it is normally carried out swiftly. But why were the two not killed earlier?”

Balla sarpanch Ranbir Singh Mann, who had reportedly “approved” the killings, could not be contacted.