A teenage girl, who married a man outside her caste, was allegedly set on fire by his relatives, at Kannahalli in Malavalli taluk in the district, on Thursday morning.

The deceased has been identified as Shilpa, 19, daughter of Murugesh and Mangalamma, residents of Bhairaveshwara Nagar near Metagalli in Mysore.

Police said Shilpa, a Nayak, had married Abhijit belonging to a Scheduled Caste and a native of Nelamakanahalli, in January, despite stiff opposition from their families. Abhijit’s paternal uncle Puttaswamy and aunt Pramila had invited Shilpa to their house in Kannahalli to attend a fair. On Wednesday, the couple, along with Shilpa, had gone to Mudukutore for the fair, police said.

On Thursday morning, Puttaswamy and Pramila allegedly took Shilpa to an isolated place on the outskirts of the village and tried to kill her using a rope. However, when Shilpa tried to escape, they poured petrol on her and set her afire. The couple then fled the spot, police said.

Failed to respond

Villagers who heard Shilpa’s cries rushed her to a hospital in Malavalli and later shifted her to VIMS in Mandya. However, Shilpa failed to respond to the treatment and died on Thursday afternoon. “Police have already taken Pramila into custody and a hunt is on for Puttaswamy. We are also enquiring about the whereabouts of Abhijit,” Superintendent of Police Bhusan Borase told Deccan Herald.

Mangalamma, in her complaint to the Malavalli Rural Police, has stated that her daughter was murdered by her husband’s relatives.

“We lead an extremely humble life and my husband is away in Tamil Nadu for work. We don’t have money even to cremate our daughter,” said Mangalamma who has sought help from the district administration.

Heads of a few social welfare organisations have come forward to help the family. But Mangalamma has left for Bangalore to give an interview to a television news channel.
A decision on the cremation will be taken only after she returns,” said Maddur tahsildar Manjegowda who has the additional charge of Mandya.

Women’s panel to probe

The State government has directed the State Women’s Commission to suo motu register a complaint regarding the Malavalli incident wherein a teenager was allegedly set ablaze for marrying out of caste, and take up further proceedings.

In a statement in Bangalore, Minister of State for Kannada and Culture, Umashree, stated that her department will provide all possible help to ensure the guilty are brought to book.