Stalker beheads former partner in Karnataka: Police

Bengaluru A 23-year-old man allegedly beheaded his former girlfriend on the suspicion that she was in a relationship and later carried her severed head to the local police station in Karnataka’s Vijayanagar district, police said on Friday

Bengaluru A 23-year-old man allegedly beheaded his former girlfriend on the suspicion that she was in a relationship and later carried her severed head to the local police station in Karnataka’s Vijayanagar district, police said on Friday. The accused has been arrested and sent to 14-day judicial custody, an official familiar with the matter said.

In April, the accused married someone else but continued to stalk the victim

The accused has been identified as Bhojaraj Basavaraj, a tractor driver, while the 21-year-old victim was a nursing student.

According to the superintendent of police (Vijayanagar), Arun K, Nirmala and Basavaraj were in a relationship for a few years. Last year, Basavaraj approached Nirmala’s father with a marriage proposal but he declined and the two parted ways. In April, the accused married someone else but continued to stalk Nirmala, he added.

“He suspected that she was in a relationship with another man. He used to keep track of her movement whenever she came home,” the SP said.

On Thursday morning, Basavaraj barged into Nirmala’s house with a machete while she was alone at home, and slit her throat, police said. It is suspected that the victim was asleep when he entered the house since there were no signs of any extensive struggle. Prima facie, it appears that the accused slit her throat and beheaded her, the officer added.

Later, he took the severed head to a local police station in Kudligi, located 4 km away from Nirmala’s house, and surrendered. “When our team reached the house, they recovered Nirmala’s torso and the murder weapon,” he said. “During questioning, Basavaraj confessed that he committed the crime out of jealousy,” he added.

A suo motu complaint has been lodged by police, and Basavaraj has been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code. A local court later sent him to 14-day judicial custody.