Dead Victim’s Selfie Video Helps Cops Uncover Honour Killing
The victim, 35-year-old Harini of Brahmanatarla village, was allegedly murdered by her mother, her husband and grandfather after she expressed her intention to divorce her husband and marry her friend.
Visakhapatnam: A dead victim’s selfie video which she shared with her friend, who later on passed this to the police through the Shakti app, brought to light a suspected honour killing in Srikakulam district.
The victim, 35-year-old Harini of Brahmanatarla village, was allegedly murdered by her mother, her husband and grandfather after she expressed her intention to divorce her husband and marry her friend.
According to police, Harini was married to her maternal uncle, Danteswara Rao, of Sorligam village in Tekkali mandal in 2010. The couple has a son. After completing her degree, Harini moved to Hyderabad to prepare for the Group-I civil services examination.
During her stay in Hyderabad, she got acquainted with Nagendra and reportedly decided to marry him after seeking a divorce from her husband. Her family opposed the decision. They allegedly convinced her to return to her native village to discuss and settle the divorce issue.
Harini left Hyderabad on May 30 and reached Surlingham village on May 31. Suspecting that she could be harmed by her family, she recorded a selfie video during her journey.
In the video, she stated that serious disputes were taking place within her family and requested police intervention if she failed to return to Hyderabad by June 5 or if her phone became unreachable. She sent the video to Nagendra before arriving home.
When Harini did not return as expected and her phone remained switched off, Nagendra lodged a complaint through the AP police's Shakti App on June 6. He submitted the video as evidence.
The Shakti App control room in Mangalagiri immediately alerted the Srikakulam police.
During an inquiry, the police discovered that Harini had died six days ago.
Family members had initially claimed that she died of a heart attack and later told relatives that she had died by suicide.
To avoid suspicion, they conducted her funeral at around midnight.
Further investigations revealed that Harini was murdered on the night of May 31. Police arrested her mother Vijay Kumari, husband Danteswara Rao, and grandfather Balusaku in connection with the crime.
Srikakulam DSP Lakshmana Rao said police seized the iron rod used in the murder, along with four mobile phones. The case is being investigated further.