A young man was stabbed to death by the family of his Muslim wife outside the Saroornagar Tehsildar’s office in Hyderabad on Wednesday.
According to the reports, the 25-year-old Billapuram Nagaraju, a resident of Marredpally, was stabbed to death at the Saroornagar Tehsildar’s office on Wednesday night. The assailant fled the scene and was later arrested by the police.
The police have confirmed that they have arrested the accused, who belongs to the girl’s family.
Reportedly, Nagaraj, who worked as a salesman in a popular car showroom in Secunderabad, had married 23-year-old Syed Ashrin Sultana alias Pallavi just months ago, on January 31. The relatives of the deceased said that they were both in love from their college days.
The family members of both Nagaraju and Sultana were not happy with the inter-faith marriage and opposed it. However, going against their family, the couple got married two months ago at Arya Samaj mandir of the Old City.
On Wednesday night, the couple proceeded towards Saroonagar on Nagaraju’s motorcycle. As they reached the Mandal Revenue Office in Saroornagar, an unidentified man stopped them and attacked Nagaraju with an iron rod. He stabbed Nagaraju in public, who suffered serious injuries and died on the spot while Pallavi was injured.
Several bystanders captured the incident on the spot. The video has gone viral on social media platforms. Viewer discretion is advised.
Since they belonged to different religions, the girl’s family killed Nagaraj, said one of Nagaraj’s relatives. Nagaraj’s relatives also staged a demonstration, accusing his wife’s family of the murder.
The Saroornagar police reached the spot and started an investigation. Strangely, they claim it to be a case of ‘honour killing’ even as they suspect that the family members of Sultana were behind the murder.
Meanwhile, the BJP leaders in Telangana have called for strict action against the family of Sultana. Telangana BJP MLA Raja Singh has called for the arrest of everyone involved in the planning and execution of the murder.
“Was it the family members, or did some religious groups advise the family? Did some group promise them financial help? There should be a full-fledged inquiry into this murder,” Raja Singh demanded.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala said that the case was a re-run of the Ankit Saxena, a Hindu boy who was murdered in Delhi for being in a relationship with a Muslim girl.
“Had a Muslim husband of a Hindu wife been killed by her family, we know what would have happened by now! Congress, AAP, TMC, SP would have reached United Nations alleging ISLAMOPHOBIA. But since a Hindu has been killed & in Hyderabad – the crime is secular? Hence secular chuppi.” Poonawalla tweeted.
Following the incident, the Telangana Police registered a case and started an investigation. Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sridhar Reddy, said that the initial investigation suggested that their love marriage was the reason behind the killing.
However, according to Swarajya journalist Swati Goel Sharma, Telangana police are considering this case as an inter-caste issue and not a crime involving communal hatred.