In what appears to be an ‘honour killing’, a man from a remote village on the outskirts of the city was arrested on Wednesday for allegedly killing his 16-year-old daughter after she eloped with a boy of another caste.
The accused, Chikka Narasimhaiah who lives in Vinayakappanahalli, is a carpenter. He claimed to murdering his daughter and burning the body on October 22.
He would have probably got away with the crime had it not been for persistent rumours in the village, which reached a beat constable’s ears. Narasimhaiah was arrested for murder and remanded in judicial custody.
Narasimhaiah had two wives. The victim was the daughter of his first wife. She was in Class X at Mandigeri Government School. Three months ago, she eloped with a boy from the same village. The family immediately filed a police complaint. She was traced and brought back home.
According to the police, Narasimhaiah and his daughter would have arguments over her refusal to mend her ways. On October 22, he allegedly bludgeoned her to death with a wooden stick. He carried the body to their backyard and cremated her, and buried the remains in a pit, said the police.
“He concealed his crime from his second wife and their two minor children who had gone to their native village at the time of the incident. When they returned, he concocted a story about his daughter eloping with another man and said that he did not want to file a complaint,” said the police.
Her schoolmates noticed her absence and informed their parents. A beat constable learned about this and began to probe the case.
When he could not trace the girl, he alerted senior officers and later brought Narasimhaiah to the police station for questioning.
Amith Singh, Superintendent of Police, said, “The father confessed to killing his daughter claiming that she was not listening to him. However, we are probing all angles and are questioning the school authorities and villagers to ascertain the motive.”
The police have recovered the remains of the body and sent them to the FSL for analysis.
