A 30-year-old Dalit woman was stabbed to death in Yellapur town of Uttara Kannada district on Saturday (January 3, 2025), allegedly by a man known to her, police said.
The accused Rafique Imamsab was later found dead in a forest near Yellapur on Sunday (January 4, 2025), the Superintendent of Police M.N. Deepan told PTI.
The incident triggered communal tension in the town, with several Hindu outfits calling for a Yellapur bandh on Sunday (January 4). They termed the woman's killing a case of 'love jihad'.
The murdered woman has been identified as Ranjitha Bhanasode (30), a resident of Kalamma Nagar in Yellapur.
Rafiq a resident of the same locality, was the prime accused in the murder of the woman. Both Rafiq and Ranjitha were friends since their school days, police said.
