KARIMNAGAR: The body of a 23-year-old who had gone missing two days ago was on Tuesday found lying in a cotton field in the outskirts of Thadikal village under Shankarapatnam Police Station limits, raising suspicions that the death was a case of honour killing.
The parents of the deceased, Gaddi Kumar, claim he was murdered by the family of a minor girl he was in love with.
A few days back, both Kumar’s and the girl’s parents agreed to get them married once the girl became a major, but his mother said the girl’s family had not made peace with the relationship as the young man belonged to the Yadava community and the girl to the Gouda community.
Kumar’s last conversation with his family was on Sunday night. “He rang me up from Huzurabad and asked me what I had cooked. He was on his way home,” his mother Mallamma recollected tearfully. She alleged that the girl’s father had invited Kumar over with the intention of killing him. Mallamma added that the family had approached the police, but they failed to take any action. Kumar’s brother Ramesh alleged that the girl’s parents may have poisoned his drink.
Thadikal villagers took to the streets to protest the alleged murder and staged a rasta roko along Karimnagar-Warangal highway.
Huzurabad ACP Kurpakar, circle inspector G Madhavi and Shankarapatnam SI Satyanarayana tried to bring the situation under control, but enraged villagers attacked their vehicles and damaged its windows. “We received a complaint yesterday from the man’s parents saying he had gone missing. We found him dead today. As of now, we are unable to come to a conclusion on the cause of the death, but a murder case has been filed under IPC 302,” said Huzurabad (rural) circle inspector.
“We don’t know if it is an honour killing case. A case of sexual harassment has been filed by the girl’s father,” he added.
Police have conducted a preliminary investigation and registered a case of suspicious death. The probe will continue to determine whether the death was a suicide or murder. The 23-year-old’s autopsy report indicates that he had injuries and blisters on his body.