Father gets lifer after son’s testimony for killing wife

HYDERABAD: A 16-year-old boy's testimony before the court led to his father getting life imprisonment. The man, Dharmarapu Rudrayya, was accused of killing his wife, the teen’s mother Dharamarapu Vijaya Rajeswari, at Nidamanuru in Nalgonda district in February. The court completed the trial in four months from the date of filing the chargesheet.

The couple along with two children was residing in Bokkamantulapadu village in Nidamanuru. The younger son died of ill-health last year.  They had spent most of their money on their son's treatment and ran into a financial crisis. The elder son was then studying in Class 10 in a gurukul school.

The family shifted to Hyderabad to earn a livelihood and was staying in Nagole. In February, they came to the village to attend a family function where Rudrayya attacked Vijaya Rajeswari with an axe. The son saw the attack. Rudrayya threatened the relatives who gathered around, and fled from the spot. He was later arrested and sent to judicial remand.

While in remand, he got bail but he could not leave jail as nobody stood surety for him. Police filed a chargesheet on June 2.