The murder of 22-year-old nurse Swati Byadagi by her former partner has sparked religious tensions in Haveri. On March 13, Niyaz Bennigere (28) from Hale Veerapur, Hirekerur taluk, was arrested in connection with the crime. His associates, Durgachari Badiger and Vinayak Pujar, remain at large. Although the crime occurred on March 3, it was only confirmed on the evening of March 13 after a week-long investigation.
Swati, originally from Masur village in Rattihalli taluk, was employed as a nurse at a private hospital in Ranebennur. After her disappearance on March 3, her family filed a missing person report on March 7 at Rattihalli police station. The following day, on March 6, authorities discovered a woman’s decomposed body in the Tungabhadra River near Pattepur village under the jurisdiction of Halagere police. Due to the decomposition, the body was buried after a postmortem and the filing of a UDR (Unnatural Death Report).
It wasn’t until March 13 that authorities identified the body as Swati’s through photographs and her family’s confirmation. The postmortem revealed that Swati had died from strangulation. Investigators then traced her phone records, which led to the arrest of Niyaz Bennigere.
According to SP Anshu Kumar Srivastava, Niyaz had called Swati to Suvarna Park in Ranebennur on March 3, accompanied by his associates Durgesh and Vinayak. After a disagreement regarding marriage, they took Swati to an abandoned school building near Kabbinakantimatt in Rattihalli, where they strangled her with cloth. After confirming her death, the trio disposed of her body, transporting it in Vinayak’s vehicle and throwing it into the Tungabhadra River that evening.
The police continue their search for the two remaining suspects.
