Karnataka: Teenage girl killed by parents for eloping with Dalit youth

Parents of a 16-year-old girl in Ramanagara district allegedly poisoned her because she ran away with a Dalit boy. According to a report in Deccan Herald, the parents - Govindaraju and Jayalakshamma – gave the girl food mixed with poison. They have been arrested by the police.

The Dalit boy, Manjunath, 21, has also been arrested by the Ramanagara police as the girl was a minor. The boy,a painter, was reportedly from Hubballi and was living with his sister in Sunkadakatte, Bengaluru.
 
The report states that when the girl’s parents found out about the affair they took her to the village. Despite this, the girl and Manjunath kept meeting and finally on September 6, they eloped.
 
First the girl’s parents filed a missing person’s report with the cops who traced them and brought them to Ramnagara. Cops sent the girl back with the parents and on Sunday morning, the neighbours called the police when they suspected something was wrong.

The police have stated that the parents have admitted to the crime and stated it as an honour killing because the boy was from a lower caste.