Telangana honour killing: Police file chargesheet against eight accused

HYDERABAD: Nine months after the honour killing of Dalit youth Perumalla Pranay Kumar which shook the entire state, police on Wednesday filed a chargesheet — running into 1,600 pages — against eight accused, including T Maruthi Rao, father of the victim’s widow Amrutha Varshini.

Apart from Maruthi Rao, Asghar Ali and Mohammed Abdul Bari, who were acquitted in terror cases, and a hired assassin Subash Sharma were named in the chargesheet. Police, in the chargesheet, said Maruthi struck a deal with the killers for Rs 1 crore to eliminate Pranay. The youth was exiting a private hospital with his mother Premalatha and wife Amrutha in September last year in Miryalaguda when he was struck dead by the killer with a machete.
Nalgonda district SP AV Ranganath told TOI that the eight accused were charged under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) of IPC, section 25 of the Arms Act and various sections of Prevention of SC, ST Atrocities Act. “Apart from oral evidence and statements of witnesses before the magistrate, we have submitted footage of CCTV cameras at the hospital, tollgates, call data record, cellphone tower data, forensic reports, will deed and WhatsApp messages as evidence,” Ranganath said.
The registered will deed of the prime accused, Maruti, who made his brothers as legal heirs of his properties since his daughter Amrutha had married against his will, was submitted as evidence to the court. “We have done a detailed investigation and submitted an elaborate chargesheet,” the Ranganath added.
Recalling the sequence of events leading to the murder, Ranganath said: “The accused conducted a reconniasance in Miryalaguda on August 9 and executed the plot in September.” Sharma, a contract killer from Bihar, was hired by Maruthi with the help of Asghar and Abdul Bari to murder Pranay. Asghar arranged the weapon, while Sharma stayed back till carrying out the murder. The other accused — Maruthi’s brother Shravan and driver Shiva — knew about the murder plan.
Local Congress leader and transport operator Abdul Kareem is also an accused as he had known Asghar and Bari since 2011. Kareem introduced Maruthi to Bari of Hyderabad, who later introduced him to Asghar. The latter was acquitted in the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya. Bari was earlier arrested along with Asghar in April 2003 under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. Police said Bari was paid Rs 8 lakh, Asghar Rs 6 lakh and Kareem Rs 1 lakh in July last year, two months before the murder.