Anjali Ambiger murder case: Absconding accused arrested from Davanagere

Hubballi: Girish Sawanth, the 22 year-old man on the run after he allegedly stabbed a young Anjali Ambiger to death for rejecting his marriage proposal has been arrested, police said on Friday.

Sawanth allegedly stabbed Anjali (20) multiple times in her home at Veerapur Oni here on Wednesday and had absconded.

Incidentally, he landed in the police net following an enquiry after he fell off a moving train, in what is suspected to be a fallout of him allegedly trying to attack a woman.

"The accused was nabbed on Thursday night from Davanagere with the help of the Railway Police. He has been arrested in connection with the case," Hubballi Dharwad Police Commissioner Renuka Sukumar said.

"He sustained injuries on his head and face after he allegedly fell off from a train. We are probing what exactly happened in the train. He was admitted to KIMS Hospital at around 4.30 am," she told reporters here.

A preliminary inquiry revealed that after killing Anjali, Girish travelled by train and buses to various places in Maharashtra and Goa to evade arrest, she added.

Another police officer said Girish allegedly got into a fight with a woman in the train on Thursday. He allegedly tried to attack her with a knife. When she started shouting for help, her family members and other passengers confronted him.

To escape getting beaten up, he allegedly jumped off the train and got injured. Later, he was taken to Davanagere district hospital for treatment.

When questioned, his statements were found to be suspicious. He claimed to police that he left for Hubballi from Mysuru by train and that he did not have any knife and had fallen off the train, the police officer said.

Later, he was taken into custody and interrogated during which it came to light that he was an accused in a murder case involving a young woman (Anjali Ambiger) who was stabbed to death. Subsequently, he was handed over to the Hubballi police, which is investigating the murder case, he added.

Sawanth was found to be previously involved in four bike theft cases, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.

Earlier, a police inspector and a woman head constable were suspended on charges of dereliction of duty over Anjali's killing, as they allegedly did not take seriously, her family's complaint about death threats from the perpetrator.

Anjali's family said they had complained to the police that the accused had threatened her saying she would meet the same fate as 23-year-old college student Neha Hiremath, who was stabbed to death by her former classmate at her college campus in Hubballi on April 18.