Express News Service By

In a case of suspected honour killing, a techie was strangled, allegedly by her own parents, at their residence in Rajendranagar here Sunday. The victim, identified as Pachala Deepthi (26), had married her colleague A Kiran Kumar just a couple of days back against their wishes.

According to Guntur-West DSP TV Nagaraju, Deepthi, an employee of HCL in Hyderabad for nearly two-and-a-half years, fell in love with Kiran of Rajavommangi in East Godavari district. He left for the US on project work in January this year. Deepthi’s parents, Haribabu and Samrajyam, came to know of the affair and began efforts to find a suitable boy from among their own community for her.

Fearing a forced marriage, Deepthi asked Kiran to return immediately which he did and both got married at the Arya Samaj in Hyderabad on March 21. Deepthi’s parents went to Hyderabad Saturday and invited the newly-weds to Guntur, claiming they will have to perform certain rituals.

The unsuspecting couple arrived in Guntur the same evening and checked into a hotel. Haribabu and Samrajyam called their daughter home on Sunday and when she did, they strangled her with a chunni and fled.

As Deepthi failed to return to the hotel, Kiran made several calls to her mobile in vain. He informed the police after finding his in-laws’ doors locked. The police broke open the doors, only to find Deepthi lying dead on the bed and her parents gone. The police registered a case under Section 302 of the IPC and launched a manhunt.