The Saroornagar police on Thursday, May 5, arrested two accused – Syed Mobin Ahmed and Mohammed Masood Ahmed – on charges of killing B Nagaraju, a Dalit man, for marrying the prime accused’s sister, Syed Ashrin Sultana. Billipuram Nagaraju (26), was brutally beaten and stabbed to death on a busy road in Saroornagar in Hyderabad on Wednesday, May 4 at around 9 pm. Nagaraju belonged to the Mala community, categorised as Scheduled Caste.
The police said that the couple were travelling on their two-wheeler when they were followed by the accused. The perpetrators then obstructed the couple and hit the victim with an iron rod on his head and also attacked him with a knife. Nagaraju immediately succumbed to the blows. Police said that the two men fled with the weapons after confirming that he was dead.
The accused have been booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(2)(V) of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. According to the police, Syed Mobin had learnt about the couple’s relationship and had warned his sister. The couple were in a relationship for more than five years. Syed Mobin developed a grudge against Nagaraju when his sister eloped with him. Ashrin left her home on January 30, and got married in a Hindu ritual a day later at Arya Samaj in Hyderabad.
A month ago, both the accused tried to locate the couple and kill them, the police said. According to reports, the couple suspected that they were being followed and had shifted to Visakhapatnam for a short time before moving back to Hyderabad. The accused then managed to track them again, the police said, adding that initially, they plotted to kill Nagaraju at his workplace itself. Nagaraju was working as a car salesman. However, they later decided to follow the couple and killed Nagaraju in Panjala Arun Kumar Colony, Saroornagar, when the couple were returning from their relative’s place, police said.
The police said that while Syed Mobin stabbed the victim with a knife, Mohammed Masood attacked him with an iron rod. The duo fled with the weapons after killing Nagaraju. Police have seized the weapons used in the crime and the accused were presented in front of a local court.
Meanwhile, the crime has acquired a communal colour with the BJP questioning the silence of AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi on the incident. “The only crime committed by Nagaraju for which he was gruesomely hacked to death was marrying a Muslim girl. I feel this hate crime is not just shocking, but also unacceptable in the society we live in. Incidents like this throw a bad light on the social deterioration and extreme intolerance of religious identity,” said Krishna Saagar Rao, spokesperson of the BJP.
He added, “Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao is answerable to the people of Telangana for the rapid deterioration of law and order in the city of Hyderabad. His party’s tacit support to AIMIM is certainly the reason for an uptick in this kind of religious crime in the city.”
Warning about communal elements exploiting the death for their political gains, Telangana for Peace and Unity (TPU) – a forum working for peace and communal harmony in the state – has demanded strict action against the perpetrators of the crime.
“We appeal to the Telangana government to ensure that strict legal action is taken in the current case as well as in previous cases of similar nature. We also warn vested interests to not use this unfortunate incident to pursue their communal agendas and allow law to take its course. TPU, as a forum of people belonging to diverse faiths, with a strong commitment to preserving communal harmony in Telangana, appeals to all sections to maintain peace and co-operate with the law enforcement agencies in holding the perpetrators accountable,” TPU said in a statement.