Scheduled Castes body takes cognisance after Dalit man killed by Muslim wife’s family

The rights panel has also sought an 'action-taken report' from Telangana’s chief secretary, state director-general of police, Hyderabad top cop and the district collector of Hyderabad.

A day after Nagaraju, a Dalit man, was killed in the middle of a busy road in Hyderabad by his Muslim wife’s family, the National Commission for Scheduled Castes has taken suo motu cognisance of the murder. The rights panel has also sought an 'action-taken report' from Telangana’s chief secretary, state director-general of police, Hyderabad top cop and the district collector of Hyderabad.

The man’s brother-in-law, Syed Mobin Ahmed, along with his accomplice - Mohammed Masood Ahmed - attacked Nagaraju and his wife Sultana when they were out shopping. They attacked Nagaraju with an iron rod and stabbed him with a knife, killing him in the middle of a road surrounded by stunned onlookers, most of whom had their phones out, recording the attack. But none came forward to try and stop the attack.

Sultana herself tried to fight off her husband’s attackers - her own brothers - valiantly. But it was all over within minutes.

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Sultana begged her brother for mercy and exhorted onlookers for help, but she could not save her ‘childhood sweetheart’. The assailants fled after confirming that Nagaraju had died.

The man and his wife - B Nagaraju and Syed Ashrin Sultana - were well aware that their love posed extraordinary danger to their lives. They have faced repeated threats and several attempts were made to kill them before they were married, by their own family.