What began as preparations for a wedding ended in tragedy in Kempaianahundi village in Mysuru district, where a young woman and her parents allegedly died by suicide after facing distress linked to the circulation of her private photographs. Police arrested a man, Ulhas Gowda, named in the family's death note.
The deceased are Shivanna (54), his wife Nagarathna (48) and their 21-year-old daughter Rakshitha, whose marriage had recently been arranged. According to police, the family is suspected to have died by suicide after photographs of Rakshitha and Ulhas were allegedly shared with the prospective groom.
The police said a death note left by the family accused Ulhas of repeatedly threatening Rakshitha and her family that he would send the photographs to Rakshitha’s fiance. The note allegedly states that he possessed photographs and messages exchanged with Rakshitha and used them to jeopardise her marriage proposal. The family further alleged that the photographs were sent to the prospective groom, resulting in humiliation and mental anguish.
Following the recovery of the death note, the T Narasipura police arrested Ulhas and booked him for the abetment of suicide.
Janata Dal (Secular) leader Sa Ra Mahesh, who visited the family, accused the police of intelligence failure and said that a few village elders had tried to resolve the matter before the incident. “If only this had been brought to the police's attention. This incident shouldn’t have happened,” he said.
He also called for a fair probe as Ulhas’s brother is said to be a Congress functionary. The village falls within former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Varuna Assembly constituency.
He added that Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy announced a personal contribution of Rs 5 lakh to support the bereaved family.
Meanwhile, Congress MLA from Chamarajanagar C Puttarangashetty, said Ulhas had been involved in wedding preparations and participated in sending out wedding invitations.
During questioning, Ulhas claimed that Rakshitha was unwilling to marry the man chosen by her parents and had asked him to share their photographs with the prospective groom. However, Mysuru Superintendent of Police Mallikarjun Baldandi said the claim was contradicted by the death note's contents, which specifically held Ulhas responsible for the deaths.
The incident has sparked outrage in the village, with residents staging a protest outside the district hospital in Mysuru, where the bodies were kept. Residents of the village demanded that strict action be taken against Ulhas.