Thirteen members of the husband’s family have been accused of involvement in the 21-year-old woman’s death
Team Clarion
BENGALURU – A young Dalit woman had to pay a heavy price over an inter-caste marriage as she lost her life after allegedly being poisoned in the Vithalapura village of Gangavathi taluk in Karnataka’s Koppal District.
Mariamma, the 21-year-old woman from the Madiga community, was allegedly poisoned to death last week. Mariamma’s father has accused 13 members of her husband’s family of being involved in her death, media reports said on Wednesday.
Mariamma married Hanumayya, a youth from the Scheduled Tribe (ST) community, in April 2023 after a two-year relationship. However, according to her father, she faced severe harassment, including caste-based discrimination and dowry demands, from her husband’s family after the marriage.
The victim, her father said, was physically assaulted before being poisoned by her in-laws. Initially, the family claimed she had ingested poison while working on the farm and was taken to the hospital, where she later died. Suspecting foul play, Mariamma’s father filed a complaint with the Gangavathi police, leading to the arrest of two individuals for questioning.
The police have registered a case and sent Mariamma’s body for post-mortem at a government hospital. Investigations are ongoing to ascertain the exact circumstances of her death.
