MADIKERI: Thirty-six hours after M Prakash alias Omkarappa, 34, in a fit of rage beheaded the minor girl he was engaged to reportedly out of anger over the postponement of their wedding, Kodagu police arrested him on Saturday morning from near Garavale village in Somwarpet taluk, even as he was readying to commit another murder.
SP K Ramarajan revealed that Prakash was planning to kill the deceased girl's elder sister, who lived in Garavale village, and had opposed the alliance. The sister, who is married to a farmer, did not attend the engagement ceremony, police said.
After Prakash's arrest, police recovered the girl's head from a bush near her residence in Kumbaragadige. They also recovered the machete used to kill the girl. Police seized a single barrel gun from the accused with which he allegedly planned to shoot the elder sister.
Prakash fled with the severed head after beheading the minor on Thursday evening. He told police that he was furious that the wedding had to be postponed for two years after an anonymous caller tipped off child welfare officials about the engagement.
Officials from the child welfare department had counselled both families saying that if they went ahead with the wedding, it would attract provisions of the Pocso Act and Child Marriage Act.
After the murder, Prakash hid himself behind a bush near the girl's residence. He fled when the coast was clear, but left the severed head in the bush. He hid in forest-like patches in the vicinity.
Police had been camping near Kumbaragadige, Garavale and Hammiala after the incident.
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