27-yr-old Karnataka man burnt alive over relationship; eight booked

27-year-old man dies after being set afire by woman's relatives in Karnataka. 8 booked. Victim in 5-year relationship with Ankita despite family opposition.

A 27-year-old man has died after he was allegedly set afire by the relatives of a woman he was in a relationship with, in Shivamogga district of Karnataka, police said on Sunday, adding that eight people have been booked in the case.

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Police said the incident took place at Togarsi in Shikaripura taluk on Friday night, and the deceased has been identified as Veeresh Kumar, a resident of Gadikoppa and who was a cab driver.

According to the complaint lodged by Veeresh’s mother Madavi, her son was in a relationship with his distant relative Ankita (20) for the last five years, but the couple faced opposition from Ankita’s family members.

“Ankita and Veeresh, who belonged to the same caste, decided to take their relationship forward despite family opposition, hoping their families would agree once they are married,” police said, quoting from the complaint.

“On Thursday, Ankita’s brother Praveen and his accomplices visited Veeresh’s residence in Gadikoppa, and asked him to delete all photos and videos of the couple from his mobile phone, citing potential dishonour,” the complaint said.

“Later that evening, Veeresh received a call from Ankita’s family, asking him to urgently reach their house in Togarsi due to an emergency. However, when Veeresh reached Togarsi, he was abducted, restrained, and burned alive inside his Innova car,” it added.

On Friday, as Veeresh failed to return home, Madavi filed a missing persons complaint. Veeresh’s charred body was later found inside a burnt car near Togarsi area, on Saturday morning, following which the Shiralakoppa police lodged a complaint against eight people, including Praveen. “We have booked eight people under sections 504 (insult) 506 (criminal intimidation), 302(murder), and 201 (cause of disappearance of evidence of an offence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). All the accused in the case are currently absconding, and teams have been formed to nab them at the earliest,” inspector N Ramesh said.