A 22-year-old man from Kerala was beaten to death by his employer in Bengaluru after he allegedly pursued a relationship with the latter’s daughter. The police detained the accused, Anand Raj, a native of Tamil Nadu.
The victim was identified as Kiran, a native of Thiruvegappura in Palakkad. Kiran had returned from abroad in December last year and moved to Bengaluru, where his brother Hritik worked. He joined the same factory, owned by Raj, which manufactured sweet corn in Yelahanka.
Kiran was allegedly in a relationship with Raj’s 19-year-old daughter, who had returned from Mysuru for vacation. According Malayalam media reports, both families knew about the relationship. The victim’s family alleged that Raj was strongly against the relationship because of Kiran’s poor economic background.
Kiran’s father, who earlier used to run a hotel, has been working in Abu Dhabi for the last one year, and his wife, Sabari, joined him six months ago. Kiran’s sister, Kripa, lives with their grandmother in Kerala. Kripa alleged that Raj’s opposition to the relationship later turned into a grudge, but she did not think that he would kill her brother.
The incident took place in Yelahanka on Monday. According to reports, Raj had left home, telling his daughter that he was travelling to Tamil Nadu. He, however, returned with his wife after a few hours, only to see Kiran with his daughter in the house.
Enraged over this, Raj sent both his wife and daughter to a relative’s house in Chikkaballapur and confronted Kiran. He repeatedly attacked him with a cricket bat and an iron pipe throughout the night.
Kiran suffered multiple injuries to the abdomen, chest and other parts of the body. The following afternoon, Raj arranged an autorickshaw to take him to the hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
Raj’s daughter was reportedly pursuing a pre-university course in Mysuru and had come home for Dussehra holidays.
The Yelahanka police have registered a murder case against Raj, while the post-mortem results are awaited.
