Telangana court hands down death sentence to Bihar man in ‘honour killing’ case

Hyderabad: A special court in Nalgonda, Telangana, on Monday sentenced hired killer Subhash Kumar Sharma to death and six others to life imprisonment in the 2018 “honour killing” case.

Sharma, a Bihar native, was convicted for the murder of 24-year-old Dalit youth P. Pranay, who was brutally hacked to death on September 14, 2018, as he was leaving a private hospital in Miryalaguda with his pregnant wife Amrutha and mother. The murder was captured on CCTV and sparked national outrage.

Pranay had married Amrutha, who came from an upper-caste family, against the wishes of her father, businessman Maruthi Rao.

The couple wed in January 2018 at an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderabad. Maruthi Rao, who reportedly paid Rs 1 crore to the killer, was accused of masterminding the murder. He committed suicide in 2020 while on bail.

After a six-year trial, the court convicted Sharma and sentenced him to death. Other convicted individuals—Asghar Ali, Abdul Bari, M.A. Karim, Shravan Kumar (Maruthi Rao’s brother), auto driver Nizam, and car driver Shiva—received life sentences.

Asghar Ali is also implicated in the 2003 murder of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya. The accused were arrested following a complaint by Pranay’s father, P. Balaswamy, and were charged under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and murder charges.

Amrutha, who had fought tirelessly for justice, delivered a baby boy in 2019 and vowed never to return to her parents’ house.