Hyderabad, September 25
A 28-year-old man was killed in what is being seen as an honour killing, shocking the residents of Hyderabad.
The man was allegedly murdered by hired killers at the instance of the girl’s father. The police have arrested 12 members of the girl’s family for conspiracy and murder.
The victim, Yoga Hemanth Kumar, was an interior designer working for a private company. He was in a relationship with 23-year old Avanti Reddy for the past four years. Since the two belonged to different castes, the girl’s father opposed the alliance after which the two got married on their own.
According to the police, Hemanth was abducted by a group of around ten people from his residence on Thursday and his body was later found in Sangareddy area today.
After the deceased was identified, Avanti told the media that she suspects her father’s involvement in the murder. She said that while the two were cooking in their Gachibowli residence, her uncle accompanied by some people came and forced her to pack her bags and began beating Hemanth.
She said that the men came in three cars and dragged the couple to one of the cars. As the cars moved, Avanti managed to jump out of the car and escaped, the abductors took Hemanth with them.
“After getting into the car, I jumped out of it. When I tried calling my father, he did not pick up, but he was responding to my uncle’s calls, which means he knew everything and was doing this on purpose,” Avanti said.
Sources said that Hemanth belonged to Vaishya community while Avanti was a Reddy, a forward caste in Andhra Pradesh. Avanti’s family wanted her to get married only to a Reddy. But Hemanth and Avanti, who were neighbours, fell in love four years ago. But since the family of the girl did not approve of the match, the couple got married on their own on June 11.
The police said that the men abducted Hemanth and soon, they received a call from Avanti about her
husband’s abduction. When the abductors reached Gopannapalli, Hemanth allegedly managed to escape.
However, the police said that Yugander Reddy – Avanti’s uncle – who was in the car, followed Hemanth and captured him again.
“By that time, we were already looking for Hemanth near the Ring Road and nearby places. The patrol van went through Patancheruvu and later Outer Ring Road and reached Sangareddy, where the body was found. We have arrested many people now and are questioning them,” DCP M Venkateshwarulu said.
The police have registered an FIR under Sections 302 (murder), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 120 B (criminal conspiracy), 365 (punishment for abduction) and 452 (trespassing) of the Indian Penal Code.