On September 14, Pranay, a 24-year-old engineer, and his pregnant wife Amrutha were walking out of a hospital in Miryalaguda in Telangana when a man came with a machete behind him and hacked him to death.
The reason – Pranay was a Dalit Christian and Amrutha is a Vaishya.
The 21-year-old Amrutha, whose own family is alleged to have been involved in the suspected honour killing case, says Pranay wanted to bring up their child without any caste prejudice. Amrutha has not only lost her husband but is also fighting against her own family
"We dreamt of bringing up our child without caste attached. I will fight for that kind of a society on behalf of Pranay. Pranay's gift to me is growing inside me. I am even more determined to raise my child as a crusader against caste prejudices," she told The Indian Express. Pranay was a Dalit Christian and Amrutha is a Vaishya.
She also said that they had exchanged their wedding vows over WhatsApp two days before their reception.
"We exchanged our vows on WhatsApp while I was in one room and Pranay was in the other, two days before our reception. It was to give ourselves the feeling of being apart while we were typing out our commitment to each other for life. In truth, we couldn't bear to be away from each other even for a few moments," she said.
Amrutha has alleged that her father and uncle are involved in the murder.
"My father and uncle who conspired and planned Pranay's murder should receive the death penalty as soon as possible," said Amrutha.
"My father has local political contacts. The only person who can hire a contract killer, as far as I know, is Veeresham. He only must have hired him and paid them the money. My uncle Bharath Kumar and my father's friend Gudur Seenu are also involved in this pre-planned murder. I want each of them to be severely punished," she told local media according to The News Minute.
At the moment, Amrutha is staying at her in-laws' place. Her father-in-law Balaswamy said, " She is very scared of her parents. She will live here only and we will take care of her and the baby, which is due in four months."
Social Media campaign for Pranay
Meanwhile, Amrutha has started a Facebook page named 'Justice for Pranay'. A message on the page saying, "Don't worry Pranay...U r not alone...Not only me u are in the heart of crores of people...Many people are fighting for justice (sic),"
The page which was linked to Amrutha's personal account has received over one lakh likes as of Wednesday.
