Telangana woman allegedly beheaded by in-laws over land dispute

A 28-year-old woman was allegedly beheaded by her in-laws over a property dispute in Telangana’s Mahbubnagar district on Monday, November 2. The accused allegedly attacked her with sharp-edged weapons after dragging her to their house, police said. 

The victim, K Sunitha, was a native of Obulayyapalli village in Mahbubnagar mandal. She is survived by two daughters, aged five and two. Her husband, K Balaram, reportedly has mental health issues.

According to police, Sunitha was on her way to her agricultural field in Chinthal Thanda in Koilkonda mandal on Monday afternoon when her father-in-law, Manikya Naik, and her brothers-in-law, Manya Naik and Pandu Naik, along with Pandu’s wife, Parvathy, allegedly intercepted her. They tied a cloth around her neck and dragged her to their house, where they attacked her with knives and severed her head. Police suspect that the murder was premeditated.

Police rushed to the spot after receiving information and shifted the body to the Mahbubnagar Government General Hospital for a postmortem examination.

According to The Indian Express, the accused are absconding, and special teams have been formed to nab them. 

Sunitha married Balaram, a resident of Chinthal Thanda, over a decade ago. The couple frequently quarrelled, reportedly due to Balaram’s mental health issues.

About a year ago, village elders intervened to resolve the disputes. As part of the settlement, the village elders registered around 1.5 acres of agricultural land belonging to Balaram in Sunitha’s name to secure her and her daughters’ future.

However, the decision reportedly angered Balaram’s elder brothers, Manya Naik and Pandu Naik, who opposed the transfer of the land. Police said that the brothers frequently took Balaram to Hyderabad for treatment and allegedly prevented the couple from living together.

Sunitha subsequently moved to her parents’ home in Obulayyapalli. Her parents later persuaded her to return to Chinthal Thanda and built a house for her. She had been living there with her two daughters for the past month.

Despite this, her in-laws allegedly continued to pressure her to relinquish the land and leave the village. They also threatened to kill her if she refused, police said.

According to reports, the accused suspected Sunitha was in a relationship with another person and feared that she might remarry, potentially transferring the land to her new husband.