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Karnataka: Man held for killing 19-yr-old daughter in hate crime, say police
Following her death, Ramya’s body was hastily buried in secret, with the help of family members and relatives, police said
A man was arrested for allegedly strangulating his 19-year-old daughter to death over her relationship with a man from a scheduled tribe, in Kolar district, police said on Monday, adding that this was a case of hate crime.
The arrest took place after the victim’s body was exhumed in the presence of Kolara tehsildar Harshawardhan, and sent for an autopsy report on August 27. According to the police, the victim has been identified as Ramya and the accused, her father as Venkatesh Gowda.
Ramya, belonging to the Vokkaliga community, was in a romantic relationship with a young man from the ST Nayak community. The relationship lasted for over three years despite attempts by her father to dissuade her from pursuing the relationship, police said.
On August 25, while Ramya was on a phone conversation with her partner around 2.30 pm , Venkatesh Gowda intervened with news of a proposed arranged marriage. Ramya vehemently opposed the proposal and confronted her family. As the confrontation escalated after which her father killed her by suffocating her by pressing his foot against her neck, police said.
Following her death, Ramya’s body was hastily buried in secret, with the help of family members and relatives, including Venkatesh Gowda’s elder brother Mohan Gowda, Chaude Gowda, and brother-in-law Anjaneyareddy, police said.
However, after local residents grew suspicious, the police were tipped off. A discreet investigation was initiated to uncover the death and later an FIR was filed, leading to the arrest of four individuals, including Gowda, along with alleged accomplices involved in the murder.
“We received a tip from a villager about the incident, and soon we summoned the prime accused, Venkatesh Gowda, to the police station,” Kolara rural police inspector B Lokesh said. He stated that during our interrogation regarding the disappearance of his daughter Ramya, he confessed to the crime. “We have booked him and three others under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code,” Lokesh added.
