A 52-year-old man in Karnataka’s Kalaburagi district was arrested last week for allegedly murdering his 18-year-old daughter because she was in a relationship with a man from another caste, the police said.
The police identified the arrested accused as Shankar Kollur, a resident of Melakunda village, and the victim as Kavita, a nursing student.
According to the police, Shankar strangled Kavita on August 28, claimed she had died by suicide, and then cremated her in the village. He was arrested after the Farhatabad police station received an anonymous tip about the alleged cover-up. Two relatives were detained on Monday for allegedly playing a role in facilitating the subterfuge.
Sharanappa S D, Police Commissioner, Kalaburagi City, revealed during a press conference on Saturday that Kavita, one of Shankar’s five daughters, had been in a relationship with a young man from the same village. While Kavita was from the Lingayat caste, the man is from the Kuruba community, the police said. The family allegedly discovered this relationship three months before the murder. Shankar was allegedly against it and demanded that Kavita end the relationship, but she refused, the police said.
Shankar allegedly attempted to cover his tracks by placing pesticide in Kavita’s mouth and claiming she had committed suicide. He then proceeded to cremate her body on his brother’s property in the presence of approximately 250 villagers, the police said.
Police officials and forensic teams responded to the anonymous tip and visited the crime scene to collect evidence. During the subsequent investigation, Shankar allegedly confessed to strangling Kavita when she refused to end her relationship.