Love jihad row: Hindu activists, nursing students protest in K’taka seeking justice for murdered woman
Haveri: Hindu activists and nursing students staged a protest on Monday in Ranebennur town of Haveri district in Karnataka, demanding justice for Swati Ramesh Byadgi, a nurse who was murdered by three men Nayaz, Vinay and Durgachari on March 3.
Hindu activists are alleging that it is a case of ‘love jihad’ and a bandh was observed in Masur, Swati’s native place, condemning the incident.
Shops and establishments remained closed as part of the protest, demanding justice for Swati.
Nursing and pharmacy students, along with Hindu activists, demanded that the accused be given the death penalty. Protesters raised slogans, calling for justice for Swati.
The case has taken a communal turn, with the BJP alleging it to be a case of ‘love jihad.’
Former Chief Minister and BJP MP, Basavaraj Bommai visited Swati’s family and assured them that justice would be served.
Swati, a nurse and a resident of Masur village, had gone missing on March 3 and later her body was recovered from the Tungabhadra river on March 6.
The investigations revealed that Swati was strangulated to death and then dumped into the river.
The police have arrested three persons, Nayaz, Vinay and Durgachari on charges of murdering Swati.
According to the police, the accused trio murdered Swati on March 3.
Swati and Nayaz were in a relationship, but Nayaz later broke up with her after his family arranged his marriage with another girl from his community.
Enraged by this, Swati warned Nayaz that she would not remain silent if he married someone else.
Fearing trouble, Nayaz decided to kill Swati and discussed his plan with Vinay and Durgachari. The trio then conspired to kill her.
On the pretext of talking to her, Nayaz called Swati and took her to Swarna Park in Ranebennur town.
Later, the accused drove Swati to Rattihalli in a car, where they strangled her to death inside an abandoned school building using a towel. Later, they placed her body in the trunk of the car and dumped it into the Tungabhadra river, police said.
Swati was passionate about attending bull-taming sports, a traditional event in Haveri district. It was during one such event that she met the accused Nayaz and fell in love with him.
After searching for Swati, her family lodged a missing person’s complaint with the Hirekerur police station.
On March 6, Swati’s body was found in the Tungabhadra river.
The Halageri police, upon recovering the body, initially buried it, assuming it to be that of a destitute.
However, the deceased woman’s post-mortem report revealed that it was a murder case.
Later, the identity of Swati was established as the missing case had been lodged, police said.
Swati did not have a father and only had a mother.
She was working at a hospital in Ranebennur town.
When Swati’s family and police inquired with her colleagues and friends, they learned that she had been in a relationship with a man named Nayaz.
Villagers and Hindu activists are claiming that it is a case of ‘love jihad’ and have started a signature campaign, urging the police to take action against Nayaz.