*Missing for over days, Karnataka woman killed by boyfriend for ' forcing ' to marry: police*

 The police said the deceased has been identified as Sowmya, a resident of Koppa in Chikkamagaluru district who had been missing for more than 20 days, and the accused as Srujan, 29, from Sagara in Shivamogga district.

Srujan was arrested on July 22.

The Karnataka Police said they have cracked the case of a 27-year-old missing woman by arresting her boyfriend for allegedly killing her and dumping her body in a trench dug to install water pipes near the state's Sagara city earlier this month.

A day after she went missing from her hometown, Sowmya's elder sister Suma filed a missing complaint at the Koppa Police Station Sowmya on July 3. According to the missing complaint, Sowmya left home as usual on July 2 and she met Srujan but did not come back. While Sowmya was a BSc student, Srujan worked as a finance agent in a private firm.

A police officer said investigators traced Sowmya's mobile phone location and found that Srujan's phone was also active in the same area. Srujan was then called for questioning and he confessed that he killed her, the officer added.

According to a police officer, Srujan got to know Sowmya three years ago and became a family friend. They fell in love but after 6 to 7 months, disputes between the couple started and Srujan started avoiding Sowmya. Their families were aware of their relationship, said the officer. While Sowmya was forcing Srujan to marry her, he was not ready and recently developed a relationship with another woman.

"On July 2, she came to Sagara where Srujan worked and threatened to make an issue of it in the office if he refused to marry her. Srujan somehow convinced her and took her in his two-wheeler to drop her off at the bus stand. When she refused to get into the bus, he drove her in his TVS Apache bike for some 40 km," said G K Mithun Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Shivamogga.

"Srujan again asked her to take a bus near Heddaripura. She refused to do so, got off the two-wheeler and started walking. Srujan, who followed her on his bike, stopped her, and they both argued over their marriage. He then hit her on her neck and she collapsed on the ground. After which Srujan kept his leg on her neck to strangulate and kill her. As it was an isolated place, no one noticed it," added Kumar.

Kumar said Srujan came back to the finance firm and deposited Rs 1 lakh which was his responsibility and took his car to the spot where he had killed Sowmya. He put her body into his car, drove to a place under the Anandapura police limits, and dumped it in a trench dug to lay a pipeline under the Jal Jeevan Mission, according to Kumar. Later, he filled it with mud and stones.

Kumar said the missing complaint was transferred to the Shivamogga district police from the Koppa Police Station on July 24. They tracked Srujan with the help of technical surveillance, and when they questioned him he confessed to murdering Sowmya. "We were not aware where the body was dumped. He was brought to the spot and showed us the body," he said.