In a suspected case of ‘honour’ killing, a 26-year-old car salesman was allegedly murdered by his wife’s brother and a relative on the busy road in Saroornagar on Thursday night for marrying her against their wishes as the former belongs to a different faith.
According to police, the offence took place when the couple were travelling on a scooter and the woman’s family followed them and obstructed them. The suspects, who are currently in police custody, hit the victim, Billipuram Nagaraju, with an iron rod on his head and later attacked him with a knife in full public view. When the onlookers attempted to stop them, suspects threatened them. “He was stabbed to death,” police said.
Nagaraju and Syed Ashrin Sultana, who were in a relationship since their school days, got married at Arya Samaj, Lal Darwaza on January 31 after the woman’s family declined their proposal despite the couple repeatedly expressing their intention to marry.
Nagaraju, a native of Marpalle in Rangareddy district, was even willing to convert to Islam, but the family never accepted the relationship, Ms. Sultana. She hails from Ghanapur.
After their marriage, the couple started to live in a rented house at Panjala Anil Kumar Colony. Fearing threat from the woman’s family they moved to Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh for a brief period and returned recently.
Police said that the suspects were following the movements of the couple and finally attacked Nagaraju.
While police claim that two persons who killed Nagaraju are in custody, the woman claimed that five persons attacked her husband.
