K'taka: 24-year-old youth allegedly murdered over inter-religious relationship with girl in Belagavi
Family alleges role of Ram Sena
Belgaum: A 24-year-old youngster was brutally murdered in Belgaum under the jurisdiction of Belagavi Railway Police Station on Tuesday, 28 September.
The deceased youngster has been identified as Arbaaz Aptab Mulla (24), a resident of Khanapur.
According to the complaint filed by Arbaaz’s mother, a Ram Sena activist Maharaj along with two others for the murder of her son. The mother Nazeema Shaikh, has named two other in her complaint including the father of Shweta, a girl who her son was allegedly having affair with.
Shaikh claims this to be a case where the family of the girl got her son brutally killed for being in an inter-religious relationship. She also alleged that Arbaaz was getting threatening calls from Maharaj and others against his friendship with Shweta.
Nazima also stated that Shweta was asking Arbaaz to break up with her saying she was getting marriage proposals from rich families.
According to Nazima, Maharaj called Arbaaz and her to a secluded place last Sunday and threatened them asking them to delete all pictures and contact details of Shweta and demanded money from them.
“He said that he has around 40 cases registered against him and that he is not bothered about getting another one registered against him. He said he would pour acid on our faces if we failed to give money. I had not taken cash with me so I told him I will pay using UPI but he did not agree. After pleading for several minutes we managed to come out of there” Nazima said.
“On Tuesday I had gone out of station for some paperwork related to my travel plans to the UK where my daughter stays. When I returned home, Arbaaz was missing from home. And then I get a call from a random person adding that they found my son’s phone. Later we found his body, he was killed. His hands and legs were tied and was brutally murdered” a grieving Nazima told Vartha Bharati over a phone call.
“Some people say it was a suicide because he was madly in love with the girl. But if it was a suicide how were his hands and legs tied?” Nazima questions while demanding justice for her son.
Based on her complaint, Maharaj, Shweta’s father Kumbar, and another person named Birje have been named in the FIR by the cops, but no arrests or action has yet been initiated against the three accused.
Vartha Bharati tried getting more details about the police action in the case and allegations of lapses from their side while the investigation, but the Railway Police SHO refrained from commenting on the matter citing “Technicalities” of the investigation. He said they will give details of the case and investigations shortly.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
