The couple had married against the wishes of the woman’s family and had been living in Haveri district.
Pregnant woman killed over inter-caste marriage in Karnataka; father among accused
A 20-year-old pregnant woman was allegedly killed by her father and relatives in Karnataka’s Dharwad district on Sunday in a case linked to her inter-caste marriage, police said.
The woman, Manya Dhoddamani, who was six months pregnant, had married Vivekananda Dhoddamani in May, nearly seven months before the incident. The attack took place in Inam Veerapur village under the Hubballi Rural taluk.
Police arrested three people in connection with the killing — Manya Dhoddamani’s father, Prakashgouda Patil, and her relatives Veeranagouda Patil and Arunagouda Patil, according to police. Manya Dhoddamani belonged to the Lingayat community, while her husband is from a Dalit community.
The couple had married against the wishes of the woman’s family and had been living in Haveri district. An unidentified police officer said the two had been in a relationship for several years and chose to marry at a sub-registrar’s office in May after their families opposed the union.
After the marriage, Manya Dhoddamani’s parents allegedly threatened to set fire to Vivekananda Dhoddamani’s house, prompting police to intervene and issue a warning, the officer said.
“After they got married, they appeared before the police,” the officer said. “The local police officer convened a meeting between the families, and warned Manya’s parents not to trouble them after they said that they would not allow her to enter their house,”
On December 8, the couple returned to Inam Veerapur village to collect documents such as Aadhaar cards and other records required for hospital admission ahead of the woman’s delivery, police said.
On Sunday evening, while Manya Dhoddamani was working on a farm, her father and other family members allegedly assaulted her with iron pipes, Dharwad Superintendent of Police Gunjan Arya said.
Vivekananda Dhoddamani’s mother, Renavva, and a relative, Subhash, were also injured when they tried to intervene, she added.
All the injured were taken to a private hospital in Hubballi, where Manya Dhoddamani died later that night. Police said another group of attackers attempted to assault Vivekananda Dhoddamani, who managed to escape and reach a police station.
He and his relatives are undergoing treatment at a hospital. Police have registered a murder case at the Hubballi Rural police station and said the investigation is continuing.