Pranay murder case: Accused Maruthi Rao commits suicide in Hyderabad

The body was found by Arya Vysa Bhavan staff and they informed the police.
For representational purposes
For representational purposes

HYDERABAD/NALGONDA: T Maruthi Rao (55), the prime accused in the honour killing of his Dalit son-in-law P Pranay, waas found dead at Arya Vaishya Bhavan in the city on Sunday. 

Police suspect that he consumed poison in his room, but other angles are also being investigated. Pranay was hacked to death in September, 2018, at Miryalaguda when he was leaving a hospital with his pregnant wife, Amrutha, after her check-up.

Maruthi Rao was detained under the PD Act and was released from jail a few months ago. He came from Miryalaguda to Hyderabad with his driver Rajesh on Saturday night. He stayed at Room No 306 of Arya Vaishya Bhavan in Khairatabad.

"He met some people between 7 -9.30 pm on Saturday and returned to the room. He had a dosa brought by his driver Rajesh. He might have later committed suicide by consuming poison. When the incident took place, his driver was sleeping in the car outside," the Saifabad police said.

Early on Sunday, Maruthi Rao’s wife Girija called him, but there was no response. Then she called Rajesh who, along with Arya Vaishya Bhavan staff, found Maruthi Rao lying dead on the bed.

The police said Maruthi Rao’s businesses took a hit and he faced a social boycott after the honour killing. He also slipped into depression. His wife would rarely step out of the house as relatives and friends began avoiding them. 

Clues teams collected Maruthi Rao’s viscera samples and a post-mortem was also conducted before the body was handed over to the family. Police are investigating who Maruthi Rao met and who all he made calls to.  

A single page note in which Maruthi Rao apologised to his wife Girija was also found. He is said to have asked his daughter Amrutha to come and stay with her mother. However, police have sent the letter to forensics to analyse whether the letter was indeed written by Maruthi Rao. It may be mentioned here that a week ago, an unidentified body was found in his car shed at Miryalaguda.

It is said that Maruthi Rao tried to buy peace with his daughter by offering her a large share in his property. After Pranay’s killing, Maruthi Rao and seven others, Mohammed Asghar Ali, Mohammed Abdul Bari, Subhash Sharma, Rao’s brother Shravan, driver Shiva and Congress leader Abdul Kareem were arrested. 

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