Vijaya wanted to marry a Muslim woman, however her family was opposed to their relationship, police say.
The murder of a 25-year-old Hindu man over a relationship with a Muslim woman has prompted authorities to step up security and call in additional forces in Karnataka's Kalaburagi district.
Vijaya Kamble, a resident of Bheema Nagar Layout in Wadi town, was waylaid by a group of men near a railway bridge on Monday night.
An argument is said to have ensued before they attacked him with sharp weapons, leaving him bleeding profusely. Vijaya died from the injuries on the spot.
"We were sitting and having a chat. And they suddenly appeared from nowhere. There were two people standing before us. We are not aware of who they are. And they launched an attack on him. One was carrying a lethal weapon and hacked him and fled from the spot," a friend told the media.
The police say Vijaya wanted to marry a Muslim woman, however her family was opposed to their relationship.
The victim's mother accused the girl's father and brother of stabbing her son in the First Information Report (FIR).
"Her brother along with two others had come home and had warned us. He warned us to tell my son 'end the relationship with the girl'. We requested him not to harm my son and ensured him that my son wouldn't continue this relationship. But he had issued us a warning earlier that he would finish off my son," she told reporters.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the murder.
The accused have been identified as 19-year-old Shahabuddin - the brother of the woman and another 19-year-old named Nawaz.