BENGALURU: A gruesome case of alleged ‘honour killing’ of a 19-year-old girl has come to light in Ramanagara district, about 50 km from Bengaluru.“Hemalatha (19), a BCom student belonging to the Vokkaliga community from Bettehalli village in Ramanagara district, was allegedly bludgeoned to death by her father Krishnappa (48), cousin and prime accused Yogesh (21) and a minor, who is the victim’s distant relative. The trio were opposed to her relationship with Puneeth, who hails from the Scheduled Caste community,” Inspector General of Police (Central Range) Seemant Kumar Singh told TNIE. Puneeth is a college dropout.
Family maintained silence, says senior cop
The IGP added that the alleged killers had buried the body of Hemalatha in a farm near their house, which was exhumed by the police on October 10. “The body bore head injuries and was partially decomposed,” he added. Krishnappa and some of his family members had filed a missing person’s complaint on October 9 at Kudur police station, stating that his daughter Hemalatha was missing since October 8. “The complainants stated that they suspected Puneeth as the main culprit. Following the complaint, the police detained Puneeth for questioning. Preliminary investigation and the youth’s questioning revealed that he was not in that area that day,” said Singh.
He added that the investigation and circumstantial evidence got the police suspicious about the role of Krishnappa and the victim’s family members.“Hemalatha had gone missing on October 8 and the complaint was filed 24 hours later. Why did the family not file a complaint that day itself? The family maintained stoic silence.
The prime accused also started floating rumours on social media that his cousin was gangraped and killed by Puneeth and his friends drawing a parallel to the Hathras case, and even tried to draw the attention some local TV channels on the issue,” said Singh. He added, “Yogesh and Krishnappa were arrested on Friday under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code for murder and destruction of evidence,” said Singh. The minor, who is 10 days short of celebrating his 18th birthday, has been detained by the police.
Case cracked in a week
IGP Seemant Kumar Singh said that a 21-member police team cracked the case within a week’s time. A minor involved in the case, who is 10 days short of his 18th birthday, is detained.