Honour killings are becoming common in southern part of the country. In a latest
incident, a pregnant Muslim woman was burnt to death by her parents for marrying a Dalit boy.
The shocking incident was reported from a remote Gundakanala village in Vijayapura district in northern Karnataka. The victim was Banu Begum Mohammed Saab Athar who had fallen in love with a Dalit boy. Despite opposition from her family, she fled the house and married Mudukappa alias Sayabanna Sharanappa Konnur who belonged to a scheduled tribe.
According to local police, the girl’s family has been trying to nail the
couple. When the couple got married, the girl’s family hatched a plot to get the guy arrested by hosting a false case. The girl’s family had filed a false police complaint saying that the girl was minor and subsequently, the guy was booked under the Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO). However, when the police realised that it was a false case as the girl was not a minor, they
were set free and allowed to stay together.
The couple who were threatened often, decided to shift to Goa. Recently, the pregnant lady was nearing her delivery time and hence moved to her in-laws’ place. They thought that Banu’s family would forgive and compromise with them. On June 3, the couple returned to the village. To her bad luck, the girl’s family got to know of their movement and started following her.
On June 4, the girl’s sister, brother and brother in law caught hold of the Mudukappa and beat him black and blue and also bit him. Mudukappa escaped and rushed to the nearest Talikote police
station to seek help. It took the police nearly ten minutes to reach the location. But, before the police could arrive, the girl’s family had stabbed her multiple times and set her ablaze, the poor girl had lost her life. Despite screams, it is believed that the neighbours went inside their homes and locked themselves up, no one had come to her
rescue.
Sayabanna was
brutally assaulted by the girl’s family. The police said that not only were there bite marks on Banu’s mother she allegedly pelted stones at him.
“We have so far arrested, Banu’s mother Ramzanbi, her brother Akbar; sister Davalbi, and brother-in-law Jilani,” said superintendent of police Kuldeep Kumar Jain. The police are on the lookout for two other sisters of Banu who are absconding.
The unfortunate incident happened in the state while vigorous attempts of Islamist radical elements to get Dalits with Jihadis in the camouflaged war against the national unity, are gaining momentum in other parts of the
country. As usual, the spokesperson of so-called secular parties and Human Rights organisations observe a vow of silence over the brutal killing of Banu Begum. Meanwhile, people on social media also question the pseudo-Dalit intellectuals and Communists who
promote secessionist ideas and play a catalytic role in Islamisation of
backward communities.
—R Guruprasad, Bengaluru
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