On the night of Tuesday 2 January, the 30-year-old was found shot dead in a car near the hospital in Elverum. In the same car, the man charged with the murder was found with gunshot wounds. He died in hospital the following day. According to defense lawyer Pirashanthy Sivabalachandran, the woman repeatedly asked for a violence alarm and a reverse violence alarm without her being granted it. Now the Bureau has decided to launch an investigation to see if the Oslo police breached its duty of protection towards Rahavy Varatharajan. – The purpose is to clarify whether the police have breached their duty of protection towards the woman through insufficient application of security measures prior to the murder, in a way that entails criminal liability, a press release states. High priority Through the investigation, the Bureau will seek to map the police’s ongoing assessments of the threat situation for the woman and whether the violations of the restraining order had consequences for the perpetrator. The special unit must question a number of people who have worked with the case in the police. This will necessarily take some time, but the matter will have a high priority, it says. As part of the investigations, the Bureau has, among other things, obtained and reviewed documentation from the Oslo police district, the woman’s reports of the perpetrator, but also documentation from the Innlandet police district regarding the murder case. – The rationale for our initial investigations is that the state has a positive duty to protect life. The police’s protective measures towards citizens are enshrined in law in Section 2 of the Police Act, which is derived, among other things, from Section 93 of the Basic Law and the Human Rights Convention on the right to life. – She lived in constant fear Rahavy Varatharajan was visiting the hospital. She was just going out to get something in her car when she disappeared. A relative reported her missing when she did not return. The man was under a restraining order and was not allowed to contact the deceased. Nevertheless, he is said to have broken the restraining order several times in the past. The two had a short-term relationship around a year ago, but should not have been lovers. Breached the restraining order a number of times The police wanted to keep the man imprisoned, but the court said no. When the woman wanted a violence alarm, it was the police who said no. Here is the overview of all the times the woman asked for help before she was killed on Monday 1 January. The Oslo police impose a restraining order on a man until 27 October after a woman submitted a report of reckless behaviour. The two are in their 30s and should have “dated” a bit, but not been lovers. In 2017, the man was sentenced to 90 days in prison for harassment and threats against an ex-girlfriend. The first of several restraining orders in this case was imposed in 2009. The judgment from 2017 states that he sent sensitive photos to her friends and family and threatened her. Among other things, he wrote: “You will die for this”. The police give the man a summons after he has breached the restraining order three times. The man is arrested on 2 August. Then he has again broken the restraining order. Despite the summons in June, he has now sought out the car that was parked outside her home and attached tracking devices to it a total of four times. The Oslo district court allows the police to remand the man. The district court describes the violations of the restraining order and the attachment of tracking devices to the car as follows: “This must be frightening for the victim and the frequency of the violations makes the risk of repetition strong. The accused’s explanation that he did not know that attaching the tracking device to her car was a violation of the restraining order, the court does not believe is credible.” The district court also emphasizes that he has previously been sentenced for similar matters. The Oslo police want to keep the man in custody, but the Oslo district court releases the man. “The accused has explained that he has understood the seriousness. The court further points out that the actions in the charge are of a different nature than the previous cases the accused have adopted pre-trial motions for. The court has therefore come to the conclusion that the risk of repetition has weakened, and that there is no longer a strong degree of probability that the accused will again commit new criminal offenses of the nature for which he is now charged”, writes the district court. The police are appealing the district court’s decision, but Borgarting Court of Appeal rejects the appeal. The woman asks for a violence alarm, but she does not get it. The police write that she asked for this before the man was released. “Prior to this, the victim had requested a violence alarm. Based on an overall assessment, the request was refused, as the risk of violence was assessed as low at the time,” the police write in a press release. The woman also asked for a reverse violence alarm, i.e. a GPS that the man must wear. The court must decide on this, and the police did not get that far. “A reverse violence alarm is imposed by the court in connection with sentencing in a criminal case. This case was not fully investigated, among other things, a new questioning of the victim was planned for week two,” the police write. The restraining order imposed on 27 April is extended. The ban, which expires on 27 October, is now extended to 27 October 2024. The police’s restraining order is maintained by the Oslo district court. In December 2023, the man breaks the restraining order again. He has now broken the restraining order ten times since April. The woman in her 30s is visiting someone at the hospital in Elverum when she goes missing. She was going to get something from the car when she disappeared. Night to Tuesday 2 January, the woman is found shot dead in a car outside the hospital. In the same car, the man in his 30s is found badly injured. He later dies of his injuries. Show more Sivabalachandran participated in the Debate on news TV about violence alarms and partner murder. “She lived in constant fear of the accused’s escalating behaviour. The family sees this as a premeditated murder,” said the public prosecutor. Rahavy Varatharajan is said to have reported the man time and again, only to see most of the reports dismissed. – She was afraid of him, Sivabalachandran has stated. Rahavy Varatharajan and the man accused of murder, who is now dead, were found in the same car near the hospital in Elverum. Police have been looking for tracking devices because the man accused of murder has tracked her car before, but they couldn’t find anything. Photo: Roar Andre Berntsen / news The police have taken self-criticism The police in Oslo have confirmed that they refused the request for a violence alarm after an overall assessment. But they take self-criticism. – We must recognize that we could have done things differently in this case when we see how tragic the outcome was. We did not succeed in protecting her, Beate Brinch Sand told VG. Lawyer Tore Famestad has been appointed as defense counsel for the man accused of murder. Since the man is dead, this is a rather secluded role, says Famestad to news. But until the case is settled in terms of prosecution, he believes it is right that a defense attorney has been appointed.
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The Bureau is launching an investigation – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
