In a tragic turn of events for the family of a missing man which moved court to get the police to trace their son, the police have learnt his father-in-law had killed him.
The police stated it appears to have been a case of honour killing. Amboju Naresh, 26, whose marriage with 21-year-old Thummula Swathi was opposed by her parents, was allegedly killed by his father-in-law T. Srinivas Reddy.
The couple’s story captured media attention after Swathi committed suicide on May 16 by hanging.
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Even before her suicide, a video was circulating alleging Naresh’s family had harassed Swathi for dowry.
It was after Naresh’s family filed a Habeas Corpus petition in the High Court of Telangana and A.P., the police detained Srinivas Reddy in the early hours of Saturday for questioning.
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“During interrogation, Srinivas Reddy and his nephew Sathi Reddy confessed killing Naresh and how they did it,” said Rachakonda Police Commissioner Mahesh Bhagwat.
Accordingly, the two accused spotted Naresh in Bhongir after 11 p.m. on May 2. They took him to an agricultural field and when Sathi Reddy engaged him in a conversation, Srinivas Reddy struck him with a rod from behind, killing him on the spot.
“The motive appears to be a combination of factors including a grouse over the inter-caste marriage. The father in his confession also claimed that Naresh had tortured his daughter” said M. Venkateshwar Rao, DCP, L.B. Nagar.
The duo had revealed that after killing Naresh they burnt his body completely and disposed the ashes in Musi river at a spot between Vemulakonda and Laxmapur villages. The police visited the spot where the body was burnt and recovered the gunny bags.
Swathi eloped with Naresh and married him in Mumbai in March. Soon after, she had approached the Worli Police seeking protection from her father. However, she returned to Bhongir, her home-town, twice towards the end of March only to go back to her husband in Mumbai.
On May 2, Swathi, along with her husband Naresh returned to Bhongir again, allegedly at the behest of her father. According to police sources, Srinivas Reddy convinced the couple that he had accepted their marriage. The family received Swathi but Naresh did not meet them. It was on that fateful night that the father-in-law killed his daughter’s husband which prompted Naresh’s family to register a missing complaint in Bhongir and later move the High Court. The HC had given the police a June 1 deadline to trace Naresh .