The decapitated body of a 24 year-old man was found on a railway track in Khanapur, giving rise to suspicion that he was murdered allegedly over having an interfaith relationship.
The body was found in Khanapur on September 28 and was identified as a person belonging to the minority community.
He was reportedly in love with a woman from a different faith.
"We have registered a case of murder under Section 302 of the IPC. It is said that he had an affair with a woman from different faith. We are probing the case from that point of view," a police officer probing the case told PTI.
The official also said that the man used to travel to and from Belagavi every day for work.
The youth's mother has alleged that her son was killed by the family members and relatives of the woman with him he had a relationship, the official said.
She told reporters in Belagavi that some people had recently threatened her son to stay away from the girl, but he did not heed it.
She said she had also spoken to the woman's mother to stop her daughter, but both her son and the woman were adamant.
The Railway police, which was probing the case initially, has handed over the matter to the Belagavi district police.