Spurned suitor arrested for Hubballi woman's murder

A 22-year-old man was arrested on charges of killing a young woman in her home in Hubballi, Karnataka, after she allegedly rejected his marriage proposal, the police said on Friday.

Girish Sawanth stabbed Anjali Ambiger (20) multiple times at her home at Veerapur Oni in Hubballi on Wednesday and absconded.

"The accused was nabbed on Thursday night from Davanagere with the help of the Railway Police. He has been arrested in connection with the case," Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar said.

"He (Girish) sustained injuries on his head and face after he allegedly fell off from a train. We are probing what exactly happened in the train. He was admitted to KIMS Hospital at around 4.30 am,” she told reporters.

A preliminary inquiry revealed that after killing Anjali, Girish travelled by train and buses to various places in Maharashtra and Goa to avoid getting arrested, she added.

Another police officer said that Girish had got into a fight with a woman in the train on Thursday and allegedly tried to attack her with a knife. When the woman started shouting for help, her family members and other passengers confronted the accused.

To avoid getting beaten up, he allegedly jumped off the train and got injured. Later, he was taken to Davanagere district hospital for treatment.

When questioned, his statements were found to be suspicious. He claimed to the police that he left for Hubballi from Mysuru by train and that he did not have any knife and had fallen off the train, the police officer said.

Later, the accused was taken into custody and interrogated during which it came to light that he was an accused in a murder case involving a young woman who was stabbed to death. Subsequently, he was handed over to the Hubballi police, which is investigating the murder case, he added. 

The accused was found to be previously involved in four bike theft cases, the police said, adding that further investigation is underway.

A police inspector and a woman head constable were suspended on charges of dereliction of duty over the murder of the young woman, as they allegedly did not take it seriously when her family complained about death threats from the perpetrator, before the gruesome murder took place.

The victim's family said they had complained to the police that the accused had threatened the victim saying she would meet the same fate as 23-year-old college student Neha Hiremath, who was stabbed to death by her former classmate at her college campus in Hubballi on April 18.