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Belagavi couple whose elopement led to attack on man’s mother surrender
Karnataka Home Minister had instructed cops to locate the couple early, recognising the potential for disaster if they were left unattended.
The couple whose elopement to in the man’s mother being paraded naked appeared at the Belagavi police commissioner’s office on Tuesday night, seeking protection from the police.
Belagavi Police Commissioner SN Siddaramappa said that the department had deployed teams to locate the couple promptly, preventing them from taking any drastic steps. “Following untoward incidents that occurred after their escape, both the police and Home Minister G Parameshwar were worried about the couple’s well-being,” the commissioner said. Fortunately, the couple did not make any such decisions and returned safely.
Minister Parameshwar had instructed the police to locate the couple early, recognising the potential for disaster if they were left unattended for an extended period, the officer said.
According to a senior police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the returned couple revealed during the primary inquiry that they were deeply disturbed and felt ashamed and guilty about the impact of their elopement on their families. “Because of us, our families are facing such insult. Not only us but our families are also unable to show their faces to society,” the officer quoted the couple as saying.
The couple added that they never anticipated the issue would escalate to such a dire state when they left their homes.
The 24-year-old man and 22-year-old woman (names withheld as per HC directive on Wednesday), both from the same locality in Vantamuri village in Belagavi taluk, had been in love for two years. They eloped on Sunday night as the girl’s wedding engagement with another man was scheduled for Monday evening.
“I love my man very much and have repeatedly told my parents and relatives that I will only marry him and not the other one. I convinced my man to elope from our homes to avoid getting engaged to the other man fixed for the next day evening,” an officer quoted the woman’’s statement.
In response to the elopement, enraged individuals from the girl’s family stormed the man’s residence at night, ransacked household items, and mistreated his mother. The 42-year-old woman was paraded naked for about a hundred meters in front of her house, and tied to an electric pole around 12:30 am on Monday. She was rescued by the police at around 4 am.
The shocked woman sought refuge at the government hospital, where Home Minister Parameshwar, District In-Charge Minister Satish Jarkiholi, and Women and Child Development Minister Lakshmi Hebbalkar met and consoled her on Monday. Due to her need for rest, the police department restricted access to her, allowing only close relatives to visit. Minister Parameshwar instructed the police to provide counselling from expert women psychologists and officers to help her return to normalcy.
In response to the complaint, Kakati police arrested 12 individuals, including the parents, brothers, and uncles of the girl, who have been remanded to judicial custody. The accused faces 13 charges under various IPC sections, including attempted murder and property damage. To prevent retaliatory actions from the boy’s associates and avoid further incidents, the police maintained continued protection. “Special police teams have been deployed to both the man and the lady’s houses,” the police commissioner stated.
