Dalit man murdered over relationship with Muslim woman in Kalaburagi

A 25-year-old Dalit man, Vijaya Kamble (25), was murdered over a relationship with a Muslim woman (18) near the railway station in Wadi town in Kalaburagi district of Karnataka on Monday, May 23. Police have arrested two men who belonged to the Muslim community in connection with the case.

The incident took place at 8:30 pm on Monday on the railway bridge in Wadi. Vijaya Kamble, who worked as a contract cook in the railways, was stabbed with a knife and attacked with iron rods by Shahabuddin (19) and Nawaz (19) allegedly over his relationship with Shahabuddin's sister. "The accused had an argument with Vijaya previously about his relationship. They attacked him with a knife and with iron rods. He suffered injuries on his neck and died on the spot," Mahantesh Patil, a police official at the Wadi police station told TNM.

Vijaya is a resident of Bheema Nagar Layout in Wadi town. He belonged to the Holeya community, a Scheduled Caste (SC) group. He was in touch with the woman for over six years, an investigating police official said. "The woman told us that she knew him for over six years and were regularly talking to each other," an investigating police official said. "They had broken the relationship off two years ago but the brothers recently found out that they were still in touch with each other," a relative of the victim said.

The Hindutva group Sri Rama Sene's Siddalinga Swami in Kalaburagi was stopped from visiting the family of the victim on Friday, May 27. "We were blocked from visiting the family of the victim. Sri Rama Sene is registering its protest against this murder of a Hindu youth," Siddalinga Swami, a Sri Rama Sene leader from Kalaburagi said.

Kalaburagi SP Isha Pant, however, said that the victim's family declined to meet with the Sri Rama Sene members.

"The people of Wadi should be commended for telling the self-proclaimed protectors of culture - Sri Rama Sene - to go back. We don't want to encourage elements that ferment communal tensions," Congress leader and Chittapur MLA Priyank Kharge told TNM.

The murder comes two weeks after an incident in Saroornagar in Hyderabad where a Dalit man was murdered over his marriage to a Muslim woman.

In October last year, a Muslim man Arbaaz from Belagavi's Khanapur town was murdered by contract killers who belonged to the Hindutva group Sri Rama Sene Hindustan over his relationship with a Hindu woman. Less than a month later, Ravi Nimbargi from Vijayapura's Sindagi town was murdered over a relationship with a Muslim woman. Ravi's body was fished out of a well three days after he was murdered and police arrested two members of the woman's family in the case.