Amrutha Varshini, wife of Pranay Perumalla, who was hacked to death in a case of caste killing on Friday in Telangana’s Miryalaguda town, said that her father repeatedly pressured her to terminate her pregnancy.
Speaking to local media, Amrutha said, “I am a single child and ever since I married Pranay in January this year, my father rarely spoke to me. When he did, he would only call and ask me to return home or terminate the pregnancy.”
She also said that the last time he asked her to get an abortion was on Wednesday, two days before the gruesome murder.
“He said ‘you terminate the pregnancy and live without children for three years and I’ll accept the marriage’. I told him that I won’t kill my baby irrespective of what he feels. I think he planned this because he didn’t want the baby to be a problem after they killed Pranay, so that they could take me back easily,” Amrutha said.
“If I have a reason to live and meaning to life now, it is only my baby. I will see Pranay in the child and live the rest of my life. I will raise our child,” she added as she broke down.
Speaking about the attack, Amrutha said, “We knew what kind of people my parents were and we did fear that they may beat Pranay and drag me away or harm us in some way, but we never thought they would do it in full public view.”
“All those who are involved should be punished. It is not enough if they go to jail, there they will be alive. They should die in a way that they killed Pranay, so that such caste killings never happen again. Pranay’s dream was that casteism should not exist and I will fight for his dream,” she added.
23-year-old Pranay was hacked to death by a hired killer in a case of caste killing when he was coming out of hospital with Amrutha after a regular pregnancy check-up. The couple had married in January this year despite strong opposition from Amrutha’s parents.
A large number of people, including leaders of Dalit organisations, attended Pranay’s funeral on Sunday held at a church in Miryalaguda in Nalgonda district, about 150 km from Hyderabad.
The funeral procession began after Pranay’s brother arrived from Ukraine. The murder has evoked public outrage, even as the police have reportedly detained Amrutha’s father Maruthi Rao and her uncle Shravan Kumar among others.
Maruthi Rao allegedly paid Rs 10 lakh to the hired killer. Calling her father a devil, Amrutha vowed never to go back to her parents, saying she would live with Pranay’s parents.
With IANS inputs