6-month pregnant woman killed in Karnataka over inter-caste marriage; father among 3 arrested

Manya was beaten to death by her father (L) and close relatives on Sunday evening.

A 19-year-old woman, six months pregnant, has died after being brutally attacked in an incident police attribute to familial opposition over her inter-caste marriage. The alleged assault occurred on Sunday evening in Inam-Veerapur village, within the Hubbali Rural taluk of Karnataka.

The victim, identified as Manya in an NDTV report, sustained multiple injuries after being attacked with a pipe and agricultural equipment. She was rushed to a private hospital but succumbed to her wounds.

Police have arrested three individuals in connection with the murder, including the victim’s father. A case has been registered at the Hubballi Rural Police Station and an investigation is now underway.

Police officials cited in a PTI report stated that the tragedy stems from the young woman’s marriage to a man from a different caste within her own village this past May. The union was solemnised despite staunch opposition from her family.

Fearing for their safety, the couple had been living in Haveri. They had only returned to the husband’s village home earlier this month in an attempt to rebuild their lives. NDTV reported that several attempts at reconciliation between the two families had been made prior to Sunday’s violence, evidently failing to prevent the fatal escalation.

The violence began on Sunday when the woman’s family members first attempted to attack her husband and father-in-law as they worked in an agricultural field. The two men managed to escape, an act which police say further enraged the assailants.

The accused then turned their focus to the victim’s home. They barged into the residence around evening and launched a ferocious assault on the pregnant woman. A man and another woman present in the house, who tried to intervene and protect her, were also seriously injured in the attack.

The gravely injured pregnant woman was hurried to hospital but could not be saved. The police investigation continues as the community grapples with the lethal consequences of entrenched prejudice.