Bengaluru man kills daughter for being in love with Dalit

Bengaluru, DHNS

A 20-year-old woman was murdered by her father in the early hours of  Thursday as she was in love with a man from another caste. The woman's father later confessed to the crime before the police. 

The deceased, Kavana, was a resident of Bidalur village in Devanahalli taluk, Bengaluru Rural district, and has a younger sister who, too, was caught up in the chain of events that led to the former’s death.

An investigating official told DH that Kavana, who belonged to the Scheduled Tribe (ST), was in love with a man from the SC community. Unhappy over this, her father, Manjunath, got her engaged to a man identified as Mukund. 

But this tactic of her father didn’t work and she refused to marry, the official said.

Manjunath then married off his other daughter, Keerthana, 19, to Mukund, the official added.

Married against her wishes, Keerthana couldn’t put up with Mukund for long and returned to her father’s house on Wednesday evening.

Not just that. Keerthana also informed an NGO about her ordeal and was subsequently rescued, the official said.

This triggered an argument between Kavana and her father, who held her responsible for the entire fiasco. 

“An argument ensued between Kavana and Manjunath at around 9 pm on Wednesday as the latter pinned the blame on the former,” the official said. “Somewhere between 3 and 4 am on Thursday, Manjunath hit Kavana with a wooden stick and slit her throat with a knife.”

Around 6.30 am, the suspect surrendered before the Vishwanathapura police. He was later arrested and booked under Section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC, “He has confessed to the crime and is currently under police custody,” a well-placed police source said.