In a disturbing incident in Mandya, Karnataka, Mohan Bevooragowda (44) murdered his daughter Monika (19) after she refused to end her relationship with a dalit man.
The police on Monday arrested Bevooragowda and his relative D Suresh (35). Superintendent of police C H Sudheer Kumar Reddy told the media that the duo confessed to murdering Monika and later burning her body.
Monika had eloped with her dalit friend on 28 March and reportedly married him.
Bevooragowda and his relatives had traced Monika and brought her back home on 30 March.
When Monika refused to break off the relationship, they murdered the girl and hanged the body from a tree near their house to replicate a suicide. They later cremated Monica at 4 a. m. on Sunday. By the time the police reached the spot, the body was completely burnt. The police immediately detained Bevooragowda and his relatives for interrogation.
Sudheer Kumar Reddy said, “We repeatedly interrogated all the family members separately for hours and there were many inconsistencies in their statements. When we countered the father and the maternal uncle with the gaps in their narrative, they admitted to the crime.”
“Monica’s father Mohan and maternal uncle Ramakrishna murdered her late on Saturday night. We are still getting details on how she was killed. The other maternal uncle Suresh, helped them hang the body from a tree near the house to make it appear as if it was a suicide,” The News Minute quoted Reddy as saying.
According to the police, the arrested duo, residents of Thimmana Hosuru in Mandya taluk, belong to the Okkaliga/Gowda community (a forward caste).
