MADIKERI: A 32-year-old man brutally beheaded a 16-year-old girl and fled with her head after their engagement was stopped by officials, at Mutlu village in Somwarpet taluk on Thursday night. The accused Prakash had forcibly taken the girl, Meena, along with him from her house before committing the murder in a desolate place.
The girl, an SSLC student, was the only one to pass the examination from the village. Her family had organised her engagement ceremony with Prakash on Thursday, but on getting information on the children’s helpline, the Women and Child Development Department officials, along with the police, visited the village and stopped the ceremony. They also counselled the girl’s parents that she can marry only after she turns and adult and took an undertaking from them. However, they did not shift the girl to the Bala Vana and left her with the parents.
Angered by this, Prakash barged into the girl’s house on Thursday evening, argued with her parents and dragged her away. He then took her to the edge of the forest, chopped off her head with a machete and escaped with it, leaving the torso at the spot.
The police and the dog squad visited the village on Friday morning and began a search for any other body parts. They are also on the lookout for the attacker and an accomplice of his who was said to be at the spot where the murder took place. Additional police forces have been deployed in the village for security.
“Prakash barged into the girl’s house around 5.30 pm on Thursday and assaulted her parents. He dragged her for about 150 metres from her house and chopped off her head with a machete. He escaped with the head. Apart from the accused, we are also looking for his accomplice. We plan to shift the injured parents to KR Hospital in Mysuru. Armed guards and additional forces have been deployed in the village and the hospital. Cases have been booked for murder and under the POSCO Act”, Police Superintendent Ramarajan said.
It is said that last week, Meena had told her parents that she was not interested in the marriage, but they went ahead with the engagement after convincing her that the marriage would be held only after Prakash moved to Bengaluru and found a job. Locals said that Prakash would behave rudely with the villagers and would threaten the girl’s family.