Karnataka ‘honour killing’: Dalit youth, Muslim girl stabbed

TWO TEENAGERS, Basavaraj Madivalapaa Badiger (19) and Davalbi Bandagisab Tambad (18), were killed, allegedly by the latter’s family, in what police said was a suspected case of “honour killing” in Vijayapura district of North Karnataka on Tuesday.

While Basavaraj, an auto-rickshaw driver, was from the Dalit community, the girl was a Muslim. Four persons – Davalbi’s father Bandagisab Tambad (50), brother Daval (20), and two brothers-in-law Allasab (29) and Rafique Sab (24) – have been arrested.

“Prima facie, it looks like a case of honour killing,” said Vijayapura Superintendent of Police Anupam Agarwal. He said the girl’s family had objected to their relationship.

“According to the statements of the boy’s family members and villagers, the girl’s relatives saw the couple together in a field and informed her father. He, along with his son and other family members, then rushed to the field. They tied up the couple with a rope, smashed their heads with a rock and stabbed them,” said Agarwal.

Basavaraj’s mother, Mallamma, alleged that they were killed in front of her. “We came to know that her family had tied Basavaraj to a tree, so we rushed there. I pleaded with them to let him go; they didn’t listen to me and threatened me too,” she told reporters. “They stabbed them and smashed their heads with a rock in front of me,” she said.

According to the FIR, Davalbi’s family had opposed the relationship and warned Basavaraj and his family earlier. “The girl’s family members had warned Basavaraj and told him to leave Davalbi. They had also informed the boy’s family about the relationship and allegedly threatened them,” says the FIR.

Agarwal said four of the five accused have been arrested, and a search was on for the fifth suspect.