A line of posters emblazoned with the words “honour killing”, which were posted on the walls at a few places in Vijayawada's Satyanarayanapuram area, especially in Sivalayam Street, caused panic among the residents and passersby, on Saturday. The A4-size posters, printed in Telugu, bore names of the next ‘victims of Paruvu Hatya’ (honour killing) - Soni, Rahu and Priya - all printed in bold Telugu letters.
The police were alerted immediately even as images of the poster began doing the rounds on social media and WhatsApp. The authorities launched a door-to-door inspection around the area where the posters were found, to identify the three people named in the posters.
There was also speculation that the names could be an indirect reference to Congress party leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, which only left the residents further perplexed.
The police checked CCTV footage from cameras in the area and also reached out to printing shops, where the accused may have taken a printout of the poster.
Speaking to TNM, an investigating officer from the Satyanarayanapuram police said, "After an investigation, we identified the sole miscreant behind this. He seems to be mentally unsound. He's more than 50 years old and unmarried and has random bouts of frenzy. We questioned him and enquired about the reason behind the posters."
According to the police officer, the suspect put up the posters in the spur-of-the-moment and did not harbour any bad intentions. “We warned him against repeating such an act and also counselled him. We are also planning to file a case. Since the matter is a non-cognizable offence, we will need to take the court's permission," he added.
The posters had triggered such a row, as it had been posted a week after two caste killings in the neighbouring state of Telangana.
On September 14, 24-year-old Pranay was killed in Miryalaguda, Nalgonda district, in broad daylight, allegedly by an assailant, Subash Sharma, hired by his wife Amrutha’s father Maruthi Rao. The police said that Maruthi Rao opposed their marriage as Pranay was a Mala, while his family belonged to the Komati community (upper caste).
Days later, in a similar case, a man attacked his daughter Madhavi and son-in-law Sandeep with a machete in full public view in Hyderabad’s Erragadda area and grievously injured them. The entire incident was caught on camera.
20-year-old Madhavi has been battling for life while Sandeep also suffered grievous injuries. Sandeep’s family has alleged that Manoharachary was opposed to the marriage because they belonged to a Scheduled Caste community.