Even as Nalgonda district police have cracked the so called “honour killing” case and arrested seven people including a hired killer from Bihar Subhash Kumar alias Sharma, father of the victim has said that he and other family members were facing threat to their lives from the powerful people behind the killing of his son.
Nalgonda district superintendent of police AV Ranganath told a Press conference that the police have arrested Subhash Sharma from Jagatsinghpur in Bihar where he was hiding after committing the day light murder of Pranay Kumar.
It may be recalled that 24 year old Pranay, a Dalit youth, who had married an upper caste girl Amruthavarishini was hacked to death in Miryalaguda town on Friday last.
Others who were arrested include Amrutha’s father T Maruti Rao, his brother Sravan Kumar, his driver Samudrala Siva, friend Abdul Kareem and two other notorious criminals Asghar Ali and Abdul Bari.
Ranganath said that the father had given a contract to Asghar Ali and Abdul Bari to kill Pranay to avenge “humiliation” caused by him marrying his daughter.
Both Asghar Ali and Abdul Bari were accused in the murder of former Gujrat Home Minister Haren Pandya but were later acquitted. They also had record of many other criminal cases and served terms in prison. During one such imprisonment Abdul Bari had met Santosh Sharma of Bihar who was serving jail term in a case of dacoity and the two struck friendship.
Maruti Rao, a rich businessman who was also in land grabbing and settlement of disputes, had also come in touch with Abdul Bari when the latter had kidnapped him in a land dispute case. The two had later turned friends.
According to the police investigation when Maruti Rao offered them a huge contract in June last to kill Pranay Bari and Asghar Ali tried to get it done through a Hyderabad based gang. However the attempt was aborted when the gang members turned up in a drunk condition. Later Bari thought of Santosh and hired his services.
The SP said that after taking up the assignment Santosh made many trips to Hyderabad and Miryalaguda and it was in fifth attempt that he managed to kill Pranay.
Police said that when Maruti Rao came to know from his wife that Pranay and his pregnant wife will be visiting a private hospital in Miryalaguda on September 14 for checkup he alerted the gang. While Santosh waited outside the hospital, Bari kept an eye from a distance. When Pranay came out at 130 pm with his wife and mother, Bari pointed towards him and Santosh attacked him from behind with a matchet killing him on the spot.