An engineering student named Apoorva Shetty (21) was killed at a lodge in the city. Her friend Ashish (29) is the prime suspect. Though he escaped from the crime scene, police tracked his mobile device and arrested him.
Apoorva is a resident of Haralahalli village situated over 100 km north of Mysuru. She was pursuing her final year of engineering at a private college in the city and was staying at a Paying Guest (PG) accommodation. While renting the room at the lodge, the accused had given his name as Ashik of Hinkal village, reports Star of Mysore. But his real name has been uncovered as Ashish by India Today which spoke with investigating officers handling the case.
The two rented the hotel room on Aug 29. On September 1, at around 7.30 am, Ashish left the hotel alone. Apoorva did not come out for breakfast, and neither did she order lunch. The hotel employees tried calling the room through the intercom, but she did not answer. Suspicious hotel workers informed the Devaraja police station.
Devaraja Inspector Diwakar unlocked the door to the room and discovered that Apoorva was dead. Blood had oozed out of the victim’s nose, and her mouth had foamed with froth. Police suspect that Ashish had either poisoned or strangled her to death. They removed the body to the mortuary for post-mortem procedures.
Senior officials, including Mysore City Crime Branch DCP Pradeep, reached the spot. The victim was identified by checking the identity card found in the room. Based on a complaint filed by Apoorva’s parents, the police registered a case and started an investigation. The forensic team inspected the hotel room.
The accused Ashish was arrested in the wee hours on Friday.
It is believed that Ashish met the victim around three years back. After learning about the relationship, the girl’s parents fought with him and warned Apoorva to stay away from him. However, despite the opposition, the couple continued to meet each other.
Correction/Update
8 September, 7.30 PM: India Today has reported that the accused’s name is Ashish, not Ashik as was reported initially by several sites like Star of Mysore, News18 Kannada, Zee News, TV9 Kannada. It is possible that the accused Ashish did mention his name as ‘Ashik’ while signing in to the hotel where he allegedly killed Apoorva, and this is what several news sites duly reported in their initial coverage of the crime.
India Today carried out a fact check and spoke to ACP MN Shashidhar and Inspector Divakar of the Devaraja police station, under whose jurisdiction this case falls. As per the India Today report –
“They said both the accused and the victim are Hindu….the ACP said, “When rumours started to circulate in the name of the accused’s religion, I personally took a look at his details. The name of the man is Ashish and he belongs to the Okkaliga caste. His father’s name is Ravikumar and his mother is Gowri. He is a 29-year-old graphic designer.”
….the accused is an alcoholic and has a history of engaging in petty fights, adding that he is married and has been staying away from his wife for some time. He has been charged with murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.
HinduPost has updated its story accordingly. The error is regretted.
We understand that this fact check will now be highlighted prominently by English-language media and digital outlets like Wire, Scroll etc. to claim ‘love jihad is an Islamophobic conspiracy theory by Hindu extremists’. We only wish similar energy were invested in fact checking stories of “innocent Muslim man lynched by Hindus” as happened when media morphed a thief Tabrez Ansari into a martyr.
As for those who continue to claim that “Love Jihad/Grooming Jihad does not exist”, here are some cases that they can ‘fact check’ –
Pakistanization of Bharat: Class XI girl Naina Mishra shot by love jihadi Arman Ali in capital
Serial grooming jihadi Zeeshan arrested, his parents too abetted his crimes
Hindu SC girl raped by Firdaus Khan, forced to convert to Islam: Khandwa, MP
Police arrest twice married Azam Khan who forced Hindu girl to elope with him: UP
Double love jihad case in Gujarat, man in his 40s traps 21 year old Hindu girl
Wasim Ansari became Ravi Sharma to trap minor Hindu girl, raped her for 5 years: Bareilly,UP
Arshad Khan and his friends gang-rape a minor Hindu girl and slit her throat: Ajmer, Rajasthan
Grooming jihad in TN- 17 year old Hindu girl made to consume rat poison after being raped
The list is endless. Refer to our archives – here, here, here; or the Hindu human rights database for more such horrifying cases.
