Fanatics hound, push Karnataka woman to suicide for saying "I love Muslims"

Districts of Coastal Karnataka have been witnessing violence in the name of religion over the last few years leading to unrest.

Constant harassment and threats by pro-Hindu activists pushed a 20-year-old woman in Karnataka to kill herself for declaring that she "loved Muslims". Dhanyashree was found hanging at her residence a day after a group of five pro-Hindu group workers threatened her and her mother for "being friendly with Muslims". A BJP youth leader from Chikmagalur has been arrested in connection with the case.

Dhanyashree, in a private chat with her friend, had spoken about communal incidents and how hatred in the name of caste and religion was futile, In response to a question posed by her friend, identified as Santosh, the woman had replied that she "loved Muslims". Her friend warned her against being friends with people from other communities and invoked Love Jihad. Screenshots of the conversations were shared widely by Santosh who also sent it to the local Bajrang Dal leaders, the police said.

A gang of five men led by a local BJP youth wing leader, Anilraj, barged into the girl's house on Friday and threatened her for being "friendly with Muslims". The gang warned the family to stay away from people of other religions. Meanwhile, a photograph of the girl with a man from another community was deliberately shared to tarnish her image, the police added.

"The girl was found hanging at her residence and a suicide note recovered from her house reveals that she was harassed and threatened by this gang. Her pictures were made viral causing mental trauma pushing her to kill herself. Anyone involved in the case will be brought to the books," said Annamalai, SP, Chikmagalur.

The Mudigere police registered a case against five people under IPC section 306 for abetment to suicide. Two special teams have been formed to identify all those involved in harassing the girl, sharing screenshots of her messages and pictures.

OneIndia News