A man allegedly strangled his daughter, forced pesticide into her mouth to stage it as a suicide, and later performed her last rites because she was in a relationship with a young man from a different community, Kalaburagi Police Commissioner Sharanappa S D said on Friday.
The incident occurred on Thursday in Melakunda village, he added.
"The jurisdictional police received information that an 18-year-old girl died by suicide and her last rites were performed, but there were suspicions about the case," Sharanappa told PTI.
Local police rushed to the village and confirmed the circumstances, he said.
Police have arrested the girl's father, Shankar.
"The man had opposed her relationship, as he has five daughters. He feared that an inter-caste marriage would affect the marriage prospects of his other three daughters," Sharanappa added.
He further said that Shankar had "tried to persuade the girl through his relatives to concentrate on her studies", but she "remained adamant".
"Shankar strangled her and poured pesticide into her mouth to make it appear as a suicide. Villagers believed it and participated in the last rites," Sharanappa said.
A forensic team was dispatched to collect evidence, and police have registered cases of murder and evidence tampering.
"We suspect the involvement of two more people, who are Shankar's relatives. Investigations are ongoing, and if found guilty, they will be arrested as well," the commissioner added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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