The police in Karnataka’s Mandya district on Tuesday said they have arrested six of the seven persons accused of murdering a married couple in what they called a caste killing. Nandesh, a Dalit man from Krishnagiri district in Tamil Nadu, and Swathi of the dominant Vanniyar caste, had been found dead earlier this month, with their bodies floating near the Shivanasamudra Falls.
Those arrested include Swathi’s father Srinivas, relatives Venkatesh, Ashwath, Krishnaswamy and Venkataraju, and Lakshman, a friend of Krishnaswamy, the Belakavadi Police said, according to The News Minute. One of the accused is still absconding, but has been booked in connection with the crime.
“This was premeditated,” an unidentified police officer said, confirming that it was a caste killing. “The woman’s family had planned to kill the couple once they tracked them down.”
Nandesh’s younger brother N Shankar had filed a police complaint on November 14, four days after his brother and sister-in-law went missing. Shankar told police that the couple had married in a temple in Krishnagiri district in August and were living in Hosur since then. He also said that Swathi’s family had been unhappy with the marriage.
Nandesh’s parents had agreed to the marriage but Swathi’s father had objected to her marrying a Dalit man, and had prevented her from leaving the house, the police said. She managed to leave her home one day in August and got married the next day, they added.
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