Hindu man killed over interfaith relationship

BENGALURU: Two Muslim men have been arrested for allegedly killing a Hindu man who was in a relationship with a sister of one of the accused, Kalaburagi police said on Thursday.

The incident took place on Monday night when the victim, Vijaya Kamble (25), a resident of Bheema Nagar Layout, came across the accused -- Shahabuddin (19) and Nawaz (19) -- near a bridge in Wadi railway station.

“Kamble was in a relationship with Shahabuddin’s elder sister. The latter’s family recently learnt about it and protested against it,” Kalaburagi superintendent of police Isha Pant said.

On Monday night, Shahabuddin and Nawaz met Kamble and as an argument broke out between the two sides, the accused reportedly attacked him with a knife and an iron rod.

“Kamble sustained multiple injuries on his neck and head. He died on the spot,” Pant said.

“Preliminary probe suggests the attack was not pre-planned, but we are in the process of finding more evidence,” she added. The accused have been booked under section 304 (murder) of Indian Penal Code, Pant said. Police have also stepped up security across the town in view of the incident, she said.

In September last year, a 24-year-old Muslim man was murdered by the family and relatives of a Hindu woman he was in a relationship with. The man’s decapitated body was found on a railway track in Belagavi district.

Ten people, including the woman’s parents, were arrested.

Less than a month later, a Hindu man was murdered by the family of a Muslim woman he was in a relationship with.