Only my father is capable of doing this: Amrutha, wife of murdered Telangana Dalit man

Amrutha has alleged that her father had told her multiple times that he would kill Pranay, as she did not obey his wishes.

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Just a day after her husband was cruelly hacked to death before her eyes in what is suspected to be a case of caste killing, Amrutha has alleged that it is her father who is behind the crime.

Speaking to TNM, Amrutha said, "It's only my father who is capable of doing this." The young woman, who is said to be 21 years old, is five months pregnant and has been admitted at Jyothi Hospital in Miryalaguda Town, the same hospital in front of which her husband was murdered by an unknown assailant on Friday.

"He had told me multiple times that he would kill him as I did not obey his wishes," says Amrutha. She has been admitted to the hospital on the request of the police.

"Her health is weak and her blood pressure is fluctuating. Her vitals are fluctuating, this is not good for her baby," said Dr M Rama Rao, who has been observing Amrutha's health status.

Amrutha recalled that her father had called her a few minutes before the murder.

"He called one minute before the murder. I didn't pick up the call. After Pranay was attacked, I called my father back on the phone and he picked up the call but was speaking indifferently. I was not in touch with him until then as he had blocked my number a few days back. A day before, I had talked to my mother to tell her that we did Ganesh puja at Pranay's home," she adds.

24-year-old Pranay was a Dalit from the Mala caste and Amrutha is a caste Hindu from the Vaishya caste. They had eloped and married in January this year.

To Sakshi TV, Amrutha alleged that her father and uncle were behind the crime and that they had warned Pranay previously.

"When they knew that I was talking to him, my uncle manhandled me," she said. Speaking to the channel, Amrutha said that she had known Pranay since 2011 and that the two of them were planning to go abroad and settle there soon. However, they postponed their plans when they came to know about the pregnancy. She further added that she will not abort the fetus and said, "I will keep the baby with me as his gift."

As Pranay's lifeless body awaits cremation, his family members allege that they had faced threats over months this year from Maruti Rao, Amrutha's father.

"The death threats used to be relayed through mutual friends or through the local MLA. Once they sent a few people to threaten us," alleges Joji, the eldest brother of Pranay's father.

"We have always known that they were dangerous people with criminal background, involved in land grabbing and illicit liquor distilling," he further claims.

Pranay's family members allege that the murder was planned well ahead. They make the claim based on CCTV footage recorded at their home in Mutthireddy Kunta.

Three days after the family conducted the wedding reception for the couple on August 17, a man had allegedly visited Pranay's house, asking if the car, which has a commercial license plate, can be given out for rent.

"It was a strange request as the person came only to Pranay's house and knew only Hindi," said Jyothi, Pranay's aunt.

On Saturday, police officers visited the house and started reviewing the CCTV footage from mid-August to the current date. The investigation is still ongoing, was all that officials had to say.

When Amrutha was asked if she will ever go back to her family, she said, "I am not ready to go back to my father and mother."

Also read: Why kill him?: Pranay's family mourns his murder, alleged caste killing in Telangana