Telangana honour killing a Rs 1cr contract; girl's dad among 7 held

Hyderabad: Seven people, including two men acquitted in the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya, were arrested for the recent honour killing of a Dalit Christian in Telangana's Nalgonda district, police said on Tuesday.

The killing of 23-year-old P Pranay Kumar, who had married an upper caste woman Amrutha Varshini, at Miryalguda in Nalgonda district on September 14 had sparked an outrage in the state.

Amrutha's father Maruti Rao, who she had accused of being behind her husband's murder along with her uncle Shravan, was among those arrested in what turned out to be a case of Rs 1 crore contract killing, Nalgonda police chief A V Ranganath told reporters.

Maruti Rao, who was opposed to the marriage, conspired with other accused to eliminate Kumar and also paid an advance amount of Rs 15 lakh, he said.

According to TV reports, the gang hired for the murder is believed to have links to Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

Shocking CCTV footage of the incident showed Kumar 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 on the spot.

Amrutha, from 'Vaishya' community, had claimed on Monday her father and uncle were behind the attack as they strongly disapproved of her marrying a Dalit Christian.

Sharma was apprehended from Samastipur in Bihar and is being brought to Nalgonda on a transit warrant, the SP said.

Asghar Ali and Abdul Bari, who were acquitted in the the murder of Haren Pandya, hail from Nalgonda. The Gujarat home minister was shot when he was sitting in a car after the morning walk on March 26, 2003, triggering a controversy after his wife accused the Gujarat government of conspiring to kill her husband.

“Ali was earlier arrested in Haren Pandya murder case. He was convicted by a lower court but acquitted by the high court. Ali is involved in several other cases also. Bari was also an accused in the murder case of Pandya," the officer said.

Pranay and Amrutha, who were in love since their school days, got married in January this year. Media reports stated that in May, Pranay's parents organised a wedding reception for the couple and photos of the function posted by Amrutha on social media had infuriated her father.

The hired killers had conducted recce at different places before executing their plan on September 14, police said.

The incident had triggered protests by some Dalit groups in Nalgonda.

Amrutha, who claimed her father insisted on her ending the marriage, said she will give birth to Pranay's child and ensure justice is done to him. She has also refused to return to her paternal home.

Rao had recently joined the TRS, while another accused Abdul Kareem, a transport operator, is a local Congress leader. Bari is a supporter of All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen (AIMIM) worker, the officer said.