- A 30-year-old woman was stabbed to death in Yellapur town, Karnataka
- The accused was her childhood friend who later died by suicide
- The accused insisted on marriage despite objections from her and her family
A 30-year-old woman was stabbed to death by her childhood friend after she refused to marry him in Karnataka's Yellapur town on Saturday. The accused, Rafiq Imamsaba, later died by suicide and was found hanging in a forest.
The victim, Ranjitha Banasode, and the accused were friends since their school days.
According to the police, Ranjitha had married a man named Sachin Katera - who was from Maharashtra - about 12 years ago, and the two have a 10-year-old son. However, she had been living separately from her husband due to personal reasons and was staying with her family in Yellapur. Ranjitha worked as a mid-day meal helper at a government school.
The accused used to frequently visit Ranjitha's house for meals, but tensions escalated when he insisted on marriage, to which Ranjitha and her family objected.
Angered by this, Rafiq attacked the woman with a sharp object while she was returning home from work.
While Rafiq fled the scene, the victim was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she died during treatment.
Hours later, Rafiq was found hanging in a nearby forest. A rope and alcohol were found on him, officials said.
"A case of atrocity and murder has been registered," SP Uttar Kannada Deepan MN said.
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