An engineering graduate on Friday succumbed to the third-degree burn injuries she sustained on March 15 at Electronics City. Based on a complaint by her family members, the police have booked her male friend for murder. The friend Shivakumar, 23, is absconding and yet to be arrested.
Daneshwari, 23, was the daughter of deputy tahsildar Ashok Sharma, presently serving in Talikota, Vijayapura district. She and Shivakumar, also from the same district, were classmates while studying engineering. Sources claimed that they had been in love with each other since 2018.
After completing his studies, Shivakumar shifted to Bengaluru where he worked as a software engineer at a private firm in Electronics City. Daneshwari, too, was residing in Bengaluru. Sources claimed the young couple started growing apart, and cracks started to surface in their relationship. “Shivakumar refused to marry her and had been ignoring her calls, prompting her to turn up near his office in Electronics City on March 15 evening,” said sources.
According to the police, she was found ablaze in an open space near Shivakumar’s office at around 8.30 p.m. “Shivakumar and his friends took her to a private hospital, from where we got a notice of a medico legal case. We tried taking the statement of the girl multiple times, but since she had suffered over 75% third-degree burns. She succumbed to her injuries in the wee hours of Friday, without making a statement,” a senior police official said.
Daneshwari’s cousin lodged a complaint against Shivakumar alleging he poured petrol and set Daneshwari on fire. Shivakumar has been booked for murder. “Before he absconded, he claimed she set herself on fire. He said he was not at the spot when she did it and he rescued her. But the victim’s family has alleged foul play and murder, so we have booked him and the investigation is under way,” a senior police official said.
