MYSURU: Distressed by her parents’ attempts to thwart her love for a lower-caste boy, a 20-year-old girl allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday. Police are not ruling out the possibility of an honour killing. The incident, reported from Chandrawadi near Nanjangud, came in the wake of her family’s repeated attempts to make her ‘uphold the respect of the family’.
Madhu Kumari, hailing from an upper caste, was in love with Jayaram. Her parents, who did not approve of her choice, had fixed her wedding with a relative. They had even started distributing cards for the wedding, slated for March 29.
Madhu had resisted the alliance and wanted to marry Jayaram against the wishes of her family, a source said. This led to a furore. A distressed Madhu allegedly committed suicide on Tuesday. The family performed her funeral in a hurry, without informing the police.
On a tip-off, Additional Superindent of Police Divya Sara Thomas visited the village. But no one was ready to answer questions about Madhu’s death.
Police eventually picked up her father Gurumalappa and mother Manjula for interrogation.
State Women’s Commission chairperson Manjula Manasa said 14 cases of honour killings had been reported in Karnataka in recent months. Manjula said she would visit Chandrawadi to gather information first hand.
Just last week, in Mandya district, a girl in love with a Dalit boy was allegedly murdered by her family.