A 28-year-old man was reportedly murdered by his wife's family members in Hyderabad's Vanasthalipuram area in the wee hours of Thursday in an alleged case of honour killing.
The Times of India reported:
The Vanasthalipuram police said Lalith Aditya, a native of Guntur district, had been residing at Sachivalayam Colony for the past three months along with his wife Sushmitha Reddy , also a native of Guntur. The couple had an inter-caste marriage.
Following a quarrel, Sushmita left home on Wednesday afternoon.
The TOI report adds that a few people came to Aditya's residence a few hours later and stabbed him with knives, following which the former's family members lodged a complaint.
"From the time of the marriage, Venkat Reddy had been threatening to kill Aditya. The couple had always been together without any issues. Venkat Reddy and his family members were hellbent on killing Aditya and getting Sushmitha remarried as they felt it was below their honour to see their daughter marrying a person from a different caste," the report quotes Aditya's brother Hema Aditya as saying.
The Telugu states have witnessed such incidents in the past.
In June this year, a 17-year-old college student was killed by her parents and grandmother in Adilabad district of Telangana as they feared that she would elope with a youth from another caste.
In July, another 17-year-old was murdered by her mother in Vijayawada for having an affair with a neighbour.
"I was right and I just acted as per my conscience. After all, the family honour is more important to us than everyone and everything," she said reportedly without a twinge of remorse, while talking to the media before being taken into police custody.