On September 14, when the couple was coming out from a hospital after Amrutha's routine pregnancy check-up, assailants hired by her father hacked Pranay to death in front of her.

The father of the pregnant woman whose husband was hacked to death in front of her in Telangana on Friday had agreed to give Rs 1.13 crore to the assailants for the task. Of this amount, around Rs 15 lakh was paid as an advance.

The woman's husband, a Dalit Christian, was allegedly killed by her family members because they were unhappy that she married a person from a different religion against their wish. The murder took place in Nalgonda district of Telangana.

Police have arrested seven people, including the woman's father, Maruti Rao, and her uncle, Shravan, in this case. Among the seven arrested are two people who were convicted and later released for the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.

READ | Man killed in front of pregnant wife, honour killing suspected

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Superintendent of Police (SP), Nalgonda, AV Ranganath said Subhash Sharma, the contractual killer hired by the woman's father, has been arrested from Bihar.

THE CASE:

About six months ago, 23-year-old P Pranay Kumar, a Dalit Christian, married Amrutha Varshini, an upper caste Hindu woman. However, Amrutha's family was against the marriage because of Pranay's caste and religion.

On September 14, when the couple was coming out from a hospital after Amrutha's routine pregnancy check-up, assailants hired by her father hacked Pranay to death in front of her.

The attack was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the hospital premises. The footage shows that as Pranay was walking out of the hospital with his pregnant wife, the assailant attacked him with a machete from behind, killing him on the spot.

On Monday, Amrutha accused her father, Maruti Rao, and her uncle, Shravan, for the murder as they strongly disapproved of her marrying a Dalit Christian.

Police say the seven people who have been arrested in this case so far include Asghar Ali and Abdul Bari, who were acquitted in the murder of former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya.

READ | Telugu star Manchu Manoj pens moving open letter on Pranay honour killing

"Ali was earlier arrested in Haren Pandya murder case. He was convicted by a lower court but acquitted by the high court. Ali is involved in several other cases also. Bari was also an accused in Pandya's murder case," a police officer said.

Speaking about the attack, police said the contractual killers had been following Pranay's activities since August 9 and finally executed their plan on September 14.

Accused pressured daughter to abort child

Superintendent of Police (SP), Nalgonda, AV Ranganath said Amrutha's father was forcing her to abort her child. However, she had decided to go ahead with the birth and said she will ensure that justice is done to Pranay. She has also refused to return to her parent's home.

(With inputs from Ashish Pandey in Hyderabad and PTI)

ANOTHER HORROR | Honour killing: Young lovers butchered by parents in Haryana