HYDERABAD: A 28-year-old woman was allegedly murdered in Hyderabad's Mahabubnagar district on Tuesday afternoon following a prolonged family dispute over 1.5 acres of agricultural land registered in her name. The incident took place in Chinthal Thanda under Koilkonda mandal. Police have arrested two of the five accused, while three others remain absconding.
The victim, identified as Sunitha, had been married to Balram for 12 years, and the couple had two daughters. According to police, tensions within the family had escalated over the ownership of the agricultural land, which belonged to Balram and was transferred to Sunitha's name following the intervention of village elders more than a year ago.
The decision allegedly angered Balram's elder brothers, Pandu Naik and Manya Naik, who reportedly pressured Sunitha to surrender the land and leave the village. Police said she had also received threats for refusing to give up the property.
The brothers allegedly interfered in the couple's domestic life, frequently taking Balram to Hyderabad and pressuring Sunitha to hand over the title deed and vacate the settlement.
Unable to bear the alleged harassment, Sunitha initially moved to her parents' house in Obulayyapalli. Her parents later helped her build a house in Chinthal Thanda, where she had been living with her two daughters for the past month.
The attack took place at around 3 pm when Sunitha was reportedly on her way to the agricultural land. The accused allegedly intercepted her, tied a cloth around her and dragged her into their house, where she was attacked with sharp-edged weapons.
The accused have been identified as her father-in-law Manikya Naik, brothers-in-law Manya Naik and Pandu Naik, Pandu's wife Parvathi and a village elder.
Following an alert from local residents, a police team led by Koilkonda police station officer A Nagaraju rushed to the spot. A team headed by Mahabubnagar Rural Circle Inspector B Gandhi Naik arrested two of the accused while they were allegedly attempting to flee.
"Both arrested accused are being produced before a local court for judicial remand. Special police teams have been deployed across neighbouring areas to trace and arrest the three absconding suspects," A Nagaraju said.
He added that a case had been registered against five people and efforts were underway to apprehend the remaining accused.