Live-in couple stabbed to death

Basavarju and Kasthuri, claiming to be married, had taken a single-bedroom house on rent two months ago. The owner of the house, BDA head constable Rajanna, lives in the same building with his family.

The incident came to light on Sunday morning around 7 when Rajanna’s wife found the couple’s house door open, but could not see anybody around. When she peeped inside the house, she found Basavaraju and Kasthuri lying in a pool of blood and alerted her husband. He then informed the police who reached the spot and conducted the investigation. The victims had multiple stab injuries and the murder weapon, a knife, was recovered from the spot, the police said. The coupe’s bodies were shifted to Saptagiri Hospital for the postmortem and their respective family members were informed.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Basavaraju and Kasthuri were in love for a long time at their village in Koppal. But as they were from different castes, Kasthuri’s parents were against their affair and had married off Kasturi to another man in Keshavpura in Hubballi two years ago, the police said.

Two months ago, Kasthuri ran away from Hubballi to Bengaluru and started living with Basavaraju, who worked as a tailor in Hesaraghatta. “While Kasthuri’s parents lodged a missing complaint with the Kukunoor police station at their village in Koppal, Kasthuri’s husband too had lodged a missing complaint at Keshavpura police station in Hubballi. The police from both the stations were looking for Kasthuri,” said T. Suresh, DCP, North Division.

Rajanna told the police that a man named Hanumantharayappa had come to meet the couple on Saturday and he was also introduced to Rajanna by Kasthuri as her brother. The police suspect Hanumantharayappa, who is absconding now, to be behind the murders and have launched a manhunt.

“It looks like the murders were committed because of the family feud and the couple’s love affair. We will find out more details after questioning the family members of both the deceased and Kasthuri’s husband in Hubballi,” a senior police officer said. A case has been registered at the Soladevanahalli police station and the investigations are underway.