Dentist killed after multiple police reports – man with lengthy history charged
A young dentist in Oslo was killed after she had repeatedly reported harassment to the police. The man now charged has an extensive history of similar incidents.
Dentist killed after multiple police reports – man with lengthy history charged
A female dentist in her late twenties was killed in Oslo after repeatedly contacting the police about harassment from a former partner. The incident has cast critical scrutiny on the police's handling of the case.
Rahavy Varatharajan, who worked as a dentist in the capital, met a man two years her senior via Tinder in autumn 2022. According to VG, he appeared caring and had a good job, but the relationship quickly became problematic.
After Easter 2023, Varatharajan decided to end it. She returned gifts he had given her, sent a break-up message and blocked him on all platforms. Nevertheless, the contact attempts continued. The man is said to have visited her workplace, left a letter on her car and called from a hidden number between 20 and 30 times the same day. He also contacted her friends and family.
At the end of April 2023, Varatharajan went to Stovner police station to report the man. In her statement, she described feeling unsafe around the clock and characterised his behaviour as "psychological terror". The police dismissed the report the same day without initiating an investigation, but issued a restraining order against the man.
In an internal police report it states: "NB: See ruling against former ex-partner. The suspect appears to be quite an intense type." The man was in 2017 convicted to 90 days in prison for harassment and threats against a former partner, and for distributing intimate images. In addition, he is said to have sent nearly 400 derogatory messages.
According to the police's later evaluation, the man's history stretches back to 2008, when he as a teenager was reported for sending annoying messages to girls his own age. Several similar cases followed in the years that followed, but most were dismissed due to lack of capacity.
The police have subsequently acknowledged that they did not understand the seriousness of Varatharajan's case. They state that the man's history did not appear automatically in their computer systems, but had to be retrieved manually.
The man is now charged with the murder of Rahavy Varatharajan.
Source: Google News NO — Oslo