Bengaluru: In yet another gruesome killing over an interfaith relationship in Karnataka, a 34-year-old man was murdered allegedly by family members of a Muslim woman in poll-bound Sindagi.
Less than a month after Arbaz Aftab Mullah’s murder in Belagavi over his interfaith relationship, Ravi Nimbargi, a resident of Balaganur village in Sindagi, was murdered allegedly by the family of a Muslim woman he was in a relationship with.
The body of Nimbargi, who went missing on 21 October, was fished out of a well Sunday. Two persons, the woman’s maternal uncle and younger brother, have been arrested for the murder. Police have withheld the names of the accused.
“On 22 October morning, our control room received a phone call from the girl who feared that her parents were going to harm Nimbargi. Ravi Nimbargi’s family had filed a missing complaint as well. We formed three teams and searched for the girl’s family members based on her statement,” H.D. Anand Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Vijayapura, told ThePrint.
“We apprehended her maternal uncle and younger brother who are the prime accused in the case,” Kumar said.
The woman is currently under police protection, fearing reprisal from her family.
Also read: How parents of Hindu woman ‘hired’ Hindutva activists to kill her Muslim boyfriend in Belagavi
‘Girl told us’
According to the Vijayapura police, Nimbargi and the woman were in a relationship for the last three-four years.
“An initial missing persons complaint has been converted into a murder case. The prime accused — her 22-year-old brother and 40 year old uncle — have confessed to have carried out the crime. They abducted Ravi on 21 October, murdered him and threw his body into a well,” Kumar told the media Sunday.
“They revealed information about his body during the interrogation following which recovery operations were carried out,” he said.
Ravi’s younger brother Shashidhar said the former had stepped out of the house to buy groceries at 6 pm on 21 October.
“When he didn’t return even after 8 pm we went looking for him. We found his bag, footwear near farming fields. I returned home and informed the family and we intensified searches. We filed a complaint the next day,” Shashidhar told the media Sunday.
“It was the girl who called us and told us that she suspected her family of harming Ravi. Had she not informed us, we wouldn’t have known at all,” Shashidhar added.
“The accused have been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC. They are the prime accused who carried out the murder. Others may have been involved in intimidation and we will take action if needed,” Kumar told ThePrint.
Asked if the case was taking a communal turn, the IPS officer said, “This is only being treated as a murder case. There is no communal tension or impact on bypolls.”
The Sindagi assembly constituency is set to vote on 30 October.
Also read: ‘We’re against interfaith relationships’: Sri Ram Sene offshoot suspected in Belagavi murder