Bengaluru: The family of the 25-year-old woman, who was brutally murdered by former lover, had approached a police helpline in Andhra Pradesh weeks before the murder, said police.
The 28-year-old man allegedly murdered Leela Pavithra Nalamati in Bengaluru by stabbing her multiple times for refusing to marry him over their caste difference, police said on Wednesday. The incident took place in full public view outside the 25-year-old woman’s officer at Murugeshpalya in East Bengaluru on Tuesday night. The accused was arrested from the crime spot.
According to a senior officer, following the murder, the family claimed that Leela had blocked the accused Dinakar Banala’s number on WhatsApp and approached DISHA, a mechanism to help women in distress, in her home state of Andhra Pradesh. However, authorities had brokered a compromise between Dinakar and Leela following a complaint that Leela had filed against him, they added.
Police said Leela hailed from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh, and the accused Dinakar from Srikakulam.
She had moved to Bengaluru around five years ago and was currently working with a private healthcare management company. She was staying in a paying guest facility in Jeevan Bhima Nagar area, said a senior officer.
“Dinakar and Leela fell in love five years ago. But the woman’s family was opposed to their marriage as Dinakar was from a “lower” caste. She informed Dinakar that her family would not agree to their marriage and that they should end their relationship as there was no future,” said deputy commissioner of police (DCP), Bengaluru East, Bheemashankar S Guled. “This angered Dinakar, who stabbed Leela at least 16 times outside her office.”
CCTV footage showed the accused waiting outside the woman’s office building, though it did not show him holding any weapon, said another officer.
“Around 7.30 pm while she was leaving, he tried to engage her in conversation but when she refused to entertain him, he took out a knife and in full view stabbed her multiple times,” said the second officer.
A team from the Jeevan Bhima Nagar police station rushed to the spot after being informed about the murder by a passerby, officers said, adding that Dinakar was arrested from the spot. A case under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) was registered at JB Nagar police station. “The accused was presented before a magistrate and was sent to judicial custody,” said the DCP.
