Hyderabad: An SC, ST cases court, which initiated trial in P Pranay's brutal honour killing in Nalgonda, has so far recorded statements of 50, including that of the victim’s parents, P Balaswami and Premalata.
The trial, which was supposed to begin last year, was halted due to the lockdown. The trial proceedings are expected to be concluded within five months.
Pranay, a dalit community, married an upper class girl Amrutha.
On September 14, 2018, Pranay took his pregnant wife to hospital for medical checkups. When the couple was returning home, hired miscreants hacked Pranay to death at Miryalaguda. The honour killing created a sensation across the state.
According to police there eight accused, including Amrutha's father Tirunagaru Maruthi Rao, Sravan, Mohammed Bari, Congress leader Abdul Karim, Shiva and Subhash Sharma and others. They have been arrested and put in different jails. Maruthi Rao, who was released on bail, committed suicide at Arya Vysya Bhavan here.
In the charge sheet, the investigation officer of the case named Maruthi Rao as accused no 1 as he had hired a supari gang from Bihar. After demanding Rs 2 crore for eliminating the dalit boy, the gang settled for Rs 1 crore and collected
Rs 16 lakh as advance.
Incidentally, one of the accused, Asgar Ali, is an ISI terrorist accused in the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.
Chronology
2018-January 30: P Pranay married Amrutha at Arya Samaj in Hyderabad against the wishes of Amrutha's father Maruthi Rao, a prominent businessman in Miryalaguda.
June-July: Maruthi Rao hatches plan to kill Pranay and starts contacting supari gang members.
August 17: The newly-wed couple hosted a reception in Miryalaguda.
September 18: Pranay hacked to death by supari gang members when he was returning home along with his pregnant wife.
September 19: Police arrest all the accused and shift them to judicial remand.
June 12, 2019: Police file a charge sheet of 1600 pages before the court.
March 7, 2020: Maruthi Rao released on bail, commits suicide in Hyderabad
