Honour killing: Man murdered near Devanahalli

BENGALURU: In what police say is a case of honour killing, a 23-year-old youth had his throat slit allegedly by his brother-in-law on the outskirts of Nalluru, near Devanahalli. The victim, Harish M, was a resident of Bidaluru and a driver.
Police registered a murder case based on a complaint lodged by his wife Meenakshi, and arrested Vinay Kumar, 22, her brother. Vinay is a resident of Nalluru and claimed he killed Harish in self-defence.


Vinay: It’s not honour killing, I stabbed him in self-defence

Meenakshi told police Harish was born and raised in Arishinakunte, a village that borders Nalluru. She and Harish were classmates in school and fell in love a few years ago. She belongs to a backward class community and her parents had opposed her marriage to Harish citing his caste.

However, the two eloped eight months ago and married. They returned to stay in Bidaluru after their wedding. Harish belonged to a Scheduled Tribe community, police added.

Police said Harish visited Nalluru to meet friends on Tuesday night and bumped into Vinay, who took him to a nearby rose farm on the pretext of having a drink. There, Vinay slashed Harish’s throat and stabbed him with a knife. The incident came to light on Wednesday when the farm owner found the body.

Channarayapattana police, under whose jurisdiction the incident falls, soon took charge of the crime scene. An autopsy was conducted at the Devanahalli government hospital and body handed over to Meenakshi. TP Shivakumar, superintendent of police (Bengaluru rural district), said it was a clear case of honour killing. A probe is on to verify whether more people were involved in the crime.

Vinay allegedly confessed to killing Harish, but told police he did it in self-defence. “Vinay admitted he was angry with Harish for marrying his sister, but insisted it was not why he killed him,” police said. “He told us Harish had borrowed Rs 2.5 lakh from him, long before Harish had eloped with his sister. Vinay said he used to call Harish frequently to demand his money.”

According to Vinay’s statement to police, Harish came to Nalluru to meet him on Tuesday night and sought time to return the money. The two later went for a drink on the outskirts of the village.

“Under the influence of alcohol, Harish began to berate me,” Vinay told police. “In a fit of rage, he took out a knife he was carrying and attempted to kill me. I wrenched the knife from his hand and stabbed him with it. I left him there and returned home around 11pm. I learnt he was dead only on Wednesday morning.”