Bengaluru: Inter-caste affair turns bloody

Bengaluru: A 24-year-old Dalit girl and her family members were brutally assaulted by an upper caste family in Kadugodi on Saturday morning. The victim, Parvati (name changed), and Sunil Kumar, a 30-year-old bachelor who belongs to the Gowda community, had been in love for seven years and have a seven-month old child born out of wedlock.

Sunil’s family called the girl and her family members early on Saturday allegedly for a compromise and to get the two married to solve the problem, as she had filed a complaint of rape and cheating against Sunil at the Varthur police station in September last year, when she was into ninth month of her pregnancy.

Parvati, her father, uncle and two brothers went to Sunil’s house in Channasandra near Kadugodi around 6 am on Saturday, as Sunil’s parents had said they had to go out of the city. “Sunil, his father Jayaram, mother Gowramma, brother Vinod, brother-in-law Praveen and sister Swapna were ready near their house, armed with machetes, iron rods, and sticks. The moment we reached the house, they attacked us with the deadly weapons, all the ti me calling us names and humiliating us that we belonged to the lower caste,” said Parvati’s younger brother.

While Parvati’s father suffered a fracture on his left hand, two brothers, her uncle and she sustained serious head injuries. The police, who were informed about the attack, rushed the family to Victoria Hospital for treatment, Parvati said.

Parvati told Deccan Chronicle that she and Sunil knew each other for the last seven years as they worked for the same holiday package firm in Koramangala, and were in love for the last four years. Sunil was a manager, while Parvati was a venue manager, she said.

Everything was alright till September last year when Sunil’s parents came to know about their affair. The girl’s family members had raised no objection, as they were sure that the two would get married.

Since Sunil’s father Jayaram was against the wedding as the girl belonged to a lower caste, the lovers decided to have a child which they thought would solve the problems.
Parvati got pregnant and while she was in her last month of pregnancy, Sunil backed out saying that his father would commit suicide if he was to marry the girl.

The harried girl and her family members rushed to Varthur police station and filed a complaint of rape and cheating against Sunil in September last year. The male baby that she delivered on October 4 last year is now seven months old and is in the custody of the girl’s relatives.

Sunil and his parents, after they assaulted Parvati and her family, lodged a complaint at the Varthur police station, alleging that it was the girl’s family members who came to their house in the morning and assaulted them. In the melee people from both sides were injured, they alleged. Kadugodi police have registered cases from both parties and are investigating.