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A couple, who had married against their parents’ wishes two months ago, were found brutally murdered at their rented house in Hesaraghatta here on Sunday morning.

Police suspect the girl’s brother who had come to visit her on Saturday evening.
Kasturi, 25, and Basavaraj, 28, both from Koppal, were found lying in a pool of blood by their landlord, Rajanna, around 8 am. He had noticed that the door of Basavaraj’s house was ajar.

He became curious and went in, only to have the shock of his life: the couple had multiple stab injuries and were lying in a pool of blood. There were bloodstains all over the place: on the floor and the walls. Rajanna then called the neighbours. Police also arrived after some time.

Rajanna, a head constable himself, recalled seeing a stranger in Basavaraj’s house the previous evening. He said he had enquired with Kasturi and she told him that the man was her brother, Hanumantaraya, who was visiting her.

At 10 pm, Rajanna recounted, he had seen the couple sitting on a slab outside the house, when he had gone to lock the gate. When he asked them what they were doing there at that hour, the couple said they were just relaxing and that Hanumantaraya was watching television. According to Rajanna, he had asked them to lock the gate before retiring to bed and they had nodded. Police suspect that Hanumantaraya meticulously planned the murder and executed it at night before escaping.

“We have formed a couple of teams and are looking out for him. We have also alerted the Koppal police. He apparently killed them because Kasturi had eloped and married Basavaraj against the wishes of her family,” a senior police officer said.

The couple had been courting each other since they were in school. Some years ago, Basavaraj had tried convincing Kasturi’s family about the marriage but they strongly opposed it, on grounds of caste. The couple then eloped and tried to get married. But Kasturi’s family traced them and brought her home. They also issued a stern warning to Basavaraj. They threatened to kill him if he continued meeting Kasturi, the police said.

Recently, the family married off Kasturi to a man from Hubballi, who is quite older than her. Kasturi remained discontented with her married life. About two months ago, she met Basavaraj and eloped with him. The couple then got married and moved to Hesaraghatta where they rented Rajanna’s house. Basavaraj was working as a tailor at a tailoring store nearby. He would also stitch clothes at his home to earn extra bucks. Kasturi would help him. A case has been registered at the Soladevanahalli police station.