Fri Mar 14 15:58:56 UTC 2025: ## Nurse’s Murder Sparks Communal Tensions in Karnataka
**Hubballi, Karnataka – March 14, 2025** – The murder of a 22-year-old nurse, Swati Byadgi, has ignited communal tensions in Karnataka following the arrest of a Muslim man in connection with the crime. Byadgi, a staff nurse at a private hospital in Ranebennur, went missing on March 3rd. Her body was discovered in the Tungabhadra river on March 6th, and a post-mortem confirmed death by strangulation.
Police arrested 28-year-old Niyaz Bennigere, a resident of Haveri district, who was reportedly Byadgi’s boyfriend. Two other accomplices, Durgachari Badiger and Vinayak Pujar, remain at large. According to police investigations, Niyaz, who recently became engaged to another woman, had allegedly murdered Byadgi after she insisted on marriage. The police say Niyaz, along with his accomplices, strangled Byadgi in an abandoned building before disposing of her body in the river.
The incident has been fueled by social media, with Hindutva groups labeling it as an instance of “Love Jihad.” BJP MP Basavaraj Bommai condemned the murder, claiming the incident highlights a deterioration in women’s safety since the Congress government took power and alleging the involvement of a “Love Jihad network.”
Byadgi’s family has mourned her loss and demanded justice. Her mother described her daughter as innocent and called for the swift prosecution of all those involved. The investigation is ongoing.
First Piper 