Police in noth Karnataka’s Vijayapura have arrested two persons in connection with the murder of a 34-year-old man, reportedly killed for having a relationship with a Muslim woman. The deceased has been identified as Ravi Nimbaragi, a resident of Alamela taluk. Ravi went missing on October 21 when he went out to get groceries, and his body was found at the bottom of a farm well two days later, on October 23. Police suspect he was killed by strangulation and later his body was dumped in the well.
District Superintendent of Police HD Anandkumar told TNM that the arrested individuals are the brother and maternal uncle of the woman Ravi had a relationship with, and were arrested based on the woman's complaint to the police. “The family of the woman had objected to their interfaith relationship and that is why he was murdered according to preliminary investigation. There is no involvement of other parties,” the SP told TNM. The names of the accused have not been released by the police so far.
The woman had reached the police helpline on October 21 stating that there was threat to Ravi’s life from her family. Following this, the police had initially detained the two accused on October 22, and formally arrested them on October 23 after Ravi's body was found. Currently the woman has been shifted to a government facility in the district.
This incident of suspected murder comes a month after the killing of 24-year-old Arbaaz Aftab, a resident of neighbouring Belagavi district. Arbaaz was killed for having a relationship with a Hindu woman. In that incident, the woman’s family had hired Pundalik Mutgekar, the president of the Shri Ram Sena Hindustan in Khanapur in Belagavi for eliminating him. A sum of Rs 5 lakh was agreed upon by the family and the fringe Hindu group leader according to police investigation as reported by TNM. Police had arrested 10 persons including the parents of Arbaaz’s girlfriend for the murder.
The SP said that there is no anticipation of communal violence in light of the incident and they don’t suspect the role of third parties. Earlier in June, in Vijayapura district, a Dalit man and a Muslim woman were killed by the woman’s family for having an interfaith relationship.