Report: Teen lovers hanged in India

Inter-caste relationships are generally not tolerated in India

By CNN's Andrew Demaria in Hong Kong

(CNN) -- Two teenage lovers in North India have been hanged to death by their parents, who opposed their inter-caste relationship, The Times of India has reported.

The relationship was exposed Monday night when their parents, acting on a tip-off from locals, caught the lovers during a rendezvous on the outskirts of the village in Uttar Pradesh.

Family members angered at the affair, took the pair -- Vishal and Sonu -- to the roof of a house and hanged them.

The girl's parents and the boy's elder brother and sister-in-law were witnesses to the hanging, the Indian Express quoted District police chief B S Moriya as saying.

Moriya was reported as saying that the couple had been warned by their families that they would punished if they did not put a halt to their relationship.

Sonu was a Jat while Vishal was a Brahmin.

The entire village was opposed to the affair, the Indian Express stated, adding that no village members came forth to report the deaths.

A total of six people have been arrested, including four members of Sonu's family -- her father, mother and two brothers. Vishal's family have evaded arrest.

There are several versions of the incident being reported.

One version said a manhunt was launched after Sonu and Vishal eloped on Monday night and that they were found and then hanged by the crowd.

A separate report claimed that the couple decided to end their lives because their relationship was not and never would be tolerated by the village.