Five held for killing Secunderabad man over 2023 inter-caste marriage he helped facilitate

Police have arrested five people in connection with the murder of a 26-year-old man in Secunderabad's Tukaramgate area, saying the killing stemmed from a nearly three-year-old grudge over the victim's role in helping a couple from different castes marry against family opposition.

The victim, Burugu Karthik, was attacked with a knife and a wooden stick near a Ganesh mandapam outside the accused family's house in Sai Nagar on September 13, and later succumbed to his injuries at Gandhi Hospital, according to Lallaguda police.

Police said Karthik had earlier helped one Rajahmandry Karthik marry Bhanu Sri, daughter of the main accused, on November 4, 2023, a union her family had opposed. The accused had since harboured hostility toward him and had previously quarrelled with and threatened him over the matter.

On the evening of September 13, Karthik got into an altercation with the family near the mandapam and returned later around 8.50 pm with friends, at which point the accused allegedly confronted him. According to police and CCTV footage examined during the investigation, one of the accused, Gaddi Praveen Kumar, brought a knife from the house and handed it to Gaddi Madan Kumar, who stabbed Karthik in the neck, while the others assaulted him with a bamboo stick and their hands.

A case was registered at Lallaguda Police Station under Section 103(1) read with 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on a complaint filed by the victim's wife, Burugu Anusha.

The five accused, all residents of Buddha Nagar in Tukaramgate, were identified as Madan Kumar (47), a TSRTC bus mechanic; Praveen Kumar (43), who runs a furniture business; Sai Kumar (41); Nagesh alias Nageshwar Rao (52); and Narsing Rao (76). Four were arrested on Tuesday, September 15, and produced before a court for judicial custody, while the fifth was apprehended the following day.

Police recovered the knife used in the attack, a blood-stained bamboo stick, blood-stained material from the scene and vehicles, the victim's clothes, and a blood-stained T-shirt belonging to one of the accused, along with CCTV footage and the accused's mobile phones.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Secunderabad Zone) Rakshitha Krishna Murthy warned against any retaliation or vigilante action, saying social media activity was being closely monitored and that anyone inciting tension or glorifying violence would be booked. "The safety of our citizens is non-negotiable. We have acted swiftly to arrest those responsible for this heinous crime, and we will act with equal force against anyone else who seeks to destabilise the peace of this locality," she said.