Udupi Police have arrested Azeez (32) of Koteshwara, who, with his wife Salma (30), has been accused of abetting the suicide of Shilpa Devadiga (25) of Uppinakudru, Kundapur in Udupi district, last week.
According to the police, Ms. Devadiga was admitted to a hospital in Manipal after she consumed poison on May 23. She died in the hospital on May 25.
Quoting her family members as saying, the police said that Ms. Devadiga came in contact with Azeez when working in a garment shop in Kundapur and he sexually exploited her for the last three years with the promise of marriage.
Salma is accused of assisting Azeez in torturing Ms. Devadiga.
The accused couple were elusive after the death of Ms. Devadiga and the Kundapur Police booked them under Section 306 of IPC (abetment of suicide).
After the death of Ms. Devadiga, Bajrang Dal termed it as a case of “love jihad”.
Addressing presspersons in Udupi on Friday last, Sunil K.R., regional convener of Bajrang Dal, Karnataka South, sought an investigation by the CID of Ms. Devadiga’s death. He said that if the accused couple are not arrested, right wing groups will stage a protest in Kundapur on May 31 at 3 p.m. Mr. Sunil demanded that the State Government compensate the family of the victim with ₹10 lakh.
Now, a court has sent Azeez to police custody. The police are yet to arrest Salma.
Two teams of police were formed to trace the couple.
(Those in distress or having suicidal tendencies can call Arogya Sahayavani on Ph: 104 for help.)
