The distraught father of a 23-year-old Dalit woman, who succumbed to severe burns at a Bengaluru hospital in the early hours of March 18, has alleged that his daughter was set on fire by her boyfriend Shivakumar Hirehala after the latter’s family objected to their marriage on caste grounds. The parents of Shivakumar (23), who belongs to the dominant Lingayat caste group, reportedly disapproved of their relationship when they found out about it in February.

The Bengaluru police arrested Shivakumar on Saturday, March 19, for allegedly attacking and murdering Daneshwari Sharma, the daughter of deputy tahsildar Ashok Sharma from Vijayapura district. According to her father, Daneshwari succumbed to 76% third-degree burns. "There was nothing we could do to save her. We have lost our only daughter," Ashok said.

The young couple reportedly got together in 2018 when they were pursuing an engineering degree at a private college in Vijayapura. Ashok said they continued the relationship even after Daneswhari graduated and began to work in a company based out of BTM Layout in Bengaluru. "When we discussed the idea of marriage with her in January, she informed us about Shivakumar," recalled Ashok. However, when Shivakumar told his own family about Daneshwari on February 2, they objected to the alliance, he said. "His parents told him that they will not welcome her into their house or eat food cooked by her. They said they would die if this marriage took place," he alleged.

This, said Ashok, had led to arguments between Shivakumar and Daneshwari. On March 15, Shivakumar along with his friends allegedly called Daneshwari to meet him near a petrol pump at Electronic City around 8 pm. There, Shivakumar attacked her and set her on fire, Ashok said. "The burn injuries are on her back, hands and legs. The front part of the body was not injured," he pointed out.

Shivakumar and his friends rushed Daneshwari to a nearby hospital soon after. "While she was struggling for her life, Shivakumar took her to Mathru Hospital near the Kudlu Gate at 8.30 pm. He might have got scared after people started to notice the fire," Ashok said.

According to the police, Shivakumar went absconding soon after taking Daneshwari to the hospital. After the arrest, he claimed that he was rescuing Daneshwari when she tried to set herself on fire, the police said.

Ashok came to know of the incident on the same night, after receiving a call from the doctors at the hospital asking him to pay Rs 40,000 for Daneshwari’s treatment. He rushed from Vijayapura to Bengaluru and reached the city on the afternoon of March 16, he said. He also alleged that the police failed to take a statement from Daneshwari on the incident. "We had informed the police on the night she was attacked. She was able to speak then. But despite us explaining the situation to them, the police did not come. When they finally came to the hospital to record her statement, it was too late," he said.