Police in Gadag district are investigating the matter (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: BCCL

Key Highlights Gangamma and Ramesh got married four years ago against the wishes of her family They moved to Shivamogga and Bengaluru and vowed never to return to Lakkalakatti Police have detained the girl's brothers and paternal uncle for questioning

Bengaluru: A most unfortunate incident has come to light from Karnataka's Gadag district where a couple was stoned to death allegedly by family members of the girl. A preliminary investigation had led police to believe that the couple may have been attacked over their inter-caste marriage, something the girl's kin disapproved of from the get-go.

The victims have been identified as 29-year-olds Ramesh Madar and Gangamma Lamani. While Gangamma was born into the Lambani community, Ramesh was the son of a Dalit father. The two got married a little over four years ago despite stoic resistance from Gangamma's family. They were parents of two children at the time of their deaths on Wednesday.

After deciding to get married, the couple left their native village and moved to Shivamogga and Bengaluru where they worked as labourers. About six months ago, they were told by a council of village elders to never return to their native village, Lakkalakatti. However, they chose to go against the wishes of their families and decided to visit their kin in Lakkalakatti on October 6.

According to reports, the girl's family members spotted Ramesh and Gangamma in Lakkalakatti village on Wednesday and picked up a fight with the former. A group of locals later pelted stones at the couple resulting in Ramesh's death on the spot. Gangamma was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to her injuries on the way.

Police have detained two men, believed to be Gangamma's brothers. They are being questioned along with her paternal uncle whose involvement in the crime is suspected. No arrests have been made in this regard as of now. The instance is but another reminder of the caste lines that define Indian society even in this day and age.

In June of this year, a pregnant woman was shot dead by her teenaged brothers in Madhya Pradesh's Indore for marrying outside her caste. She was a resident of Rawad village and had been married for about eight months before she was murdered. A bench of the Madras High Court earlier this year observed that inter-caste marriages should be encouraged to uproot the caste system in India. An order was passed in this regard by Justice N Anand Venkatesh. "These are days where the younger generation is slowly moving out of ill-effects of the caste system and that is the reason for a lot of intercaste marriages that are happening in the society," said the order.