A Dalit youth and his partner were killed in Karnataka’s Vijaypura district on Tuesday, 22 June, allegedly over their relationship. Basavaraj (19) was a resident of Saladahalli village, while the girl, believed to be aged around 16, belonged to a Muslim community in the neighbouring Khanapur village of Sindagi taluk in the district.
The police were notified of the incident after the residents of Saladahalli village discovered the bodies of the couple in a field, after they were allegedly killed by the girl’s family. Reports state that blood-stained stones, purportedly used to kill the couple, were found near the crime scene.
“Both families were equally opposed to their relationship and had beaten up their wards too for this. On Monday, the couple were in a field, when one of the girl’s family members came to know about it and in turn, he brought four other family members who came and caught them. Out of rage, the girl’s family tied both of them to a tree and started beating them up with sticks. Due to internal injuries, they succumbed on the spot,” the police said, according to IANS.
A First Information Report (FIR) has been filed in the matter by the Kalakeri Police and a search is on for the accused persons. The girl’s father Bandagisaba Tambad and their relatives – Kasimsaba Tambada, Lalesaba Vallebai, Rafik and Avalpatel – have been booked by the police for the killing.
The case has been registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for assault, wrongful restraint, rioting, and voluntarily causing hurt using arms, and under Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The FIR stated that Basavaraj and the girl were seeing each other for the past six to seven months and the families opposed their relationship since they belonged to two different communities. The accused Bandagisaba had also warned Basavaraj against contacting the girl, as per the FIR. The Kalakeri Inspector told TNM that the accused in the case are absconding. Vijayapura SP Anupam Agarwal said that no arrests were made yet in the case and the search for the accused is underway.
Meanwhile, the United Dalit Forum of Sindagi Taluk submitted a memorandum to Karnataka Home Minister, Basavaraj Bommai, on Wednesday evening, alleging that this was case of interfaith killing.
The forum's Nandakumar Bambekar, who is also the Karnataka Madiga Youth Brigade's President, later told reporters that the crime has sent shockwaves across Dalits living in Saladahalli village. He alleged that the police were playing into the hands of the rich, as the girl's father has been named fifth accused in the FIR instead of prime accused.
This story was originally published on The News Minute and has been republished with permission.
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