Seven people were arrested on Tuesday in connection with an alleged honour killing of a dalit Christian man in Telangana's Nalgonda district last week. Those arrested included the girl's father and two men acquitted in the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.
Pranay Kumar (23), who had married an upper caste woman Amrutha Varshini, was killed on September 14 at Miryalaguda. Police said the killers were hired by Amrutha's father Maruti Rao for Rs 1 crore, and an advance amount of Rs 16 lakh had already been paid.
"The demand first was for Rs two-and-a-half crore but they settled for 1 crore. They asked Rs 50 lakh for advance but they settled on Rs 16 lakh. The same day the first part of advance Rs 16 lakh was paid and they showed Pranay's house to Bari and Asgar," police said.
Pranay and Amrutha, who had been friends since their school days, got married in January this year. Maruti Rao had allegedly insisted on her daughter ending the marriage and pressured her to get the foetus aborted. Amrutha, however, said she will give birth to Pranay's child.
“We dreamt of bringing up our child without caste attached. I will fight for that kind of a society on behalf of Pranay. Pranay’s gift to me is growing inside me. I am even more determined to raise my child as a crusader against caste prejudices,” she told a national daily.
Police said the conspiracy to kill Pranay was hatched in July and since August 9, the hired killers had been conducting recce of different places before executing their plan.
Amrutha, from 'vaishya' community, had alleged that her father and uncle Shravan were behind the killing of her husband as they strongly disapproved of her marrying a dalit Christian. Maruti Rao reportedly told police that 'honour' is more important for him than his daughter.
Shocking CCTV footage of the incident showed Pranay walking out of a hospital in Miryalguda with his pregnant wife when the assailant, who was later identified as Subhash Kumar Sharma, paced up and attacked him with a machete from behind, killing him instantaneously.
Sharma, who attacked Pranay, was apprehended from Samastipur in Bihar and is being brought to Nalgonda on a transit warrant, police said. Asghar Ali and Abdul Bari, who were acquitted in the murder of Haren Pandya, hail from Nalgonda.
(With inputs from PTI)
