Dalit man commits suicide in Hyderabad, blames in-laws for separating him from OBC wife

A Dalit man committed suicide by setting himself ablaze in Hyderabad in the early hours of Thursday after recording a video blaming his in-laws for taking away his wife and turning her against him, police said.

Chittipaka Srikanth (24) doused himself with kerosene and set himself ablaze at his residence in Santoshnagar area of the old city in yet another tragic end to an inter-caste marriage. He was rushed to Osmania General Hospital immediately, where he succumbed to his injuries in the afternoon.

Srikanth’s family members told the Santoshnagar police that he had married Gadagoju Sriharsha (23), who belonged to an Other Backward Caste, from Nakirekal town in Nalgonda district, at an Arya Samaj temple in Hyderbabad in 2015, much against the wishes of her parents.

“A few months ago, Sriharsha became pregnant and her parents forcibly took her away to their home. Since then, they had not been allowing Srikanth to meet her,” the police quoted the relatives as saying.

In a video he shot on his mobile phone before he set himself on fire, Srikanth blamed his wife Sriharsha who is presently pursuing her MBBS, her father G Shanmukha Chary, other family members and a police constable for his suicide.

He alleged that Chary, who converted to Christianity, had brainwashed Sriharsha, forced her to undergo abortion and was looking for fresh alliances for her. “When I confronted them, my father-in-law started torturing me and harassing me by foisting cases against me and my family members. We were arrested and jailed for some time, before we came out on bail,” he said.

He said his wife had stopped talking to him. “I ran from pillar to post, including local politicians, seeking justice, but nobody came to my rescue,” he said.

The Santosh Nagar police are investigating the case.

Srikanth’s father Ch Muttaiah told reporters outside the hospital that his family had borne the entire expenditure for his daughter-in-law’s MBBS course and other needs, but her parents had forcibly separated the couple, after she got pregnant. “My son was madly in love with the girl and he could not forget her,” he said.

This is the third incident of trouble in inter-caste marriages in Telangana in less than a week. Pranay Perumalla, a Dalit engineering graduate was brutally murdered by a professional killer hired by his upper caste father-in-law T Maruthi Rao, who did not approve of Pranay’s marriage with his only daughter Amrutha Varshni in Miryalaguda town of Nalgonda district. The police arrested seven people including Amrutha’s father T Maruthi Rao on Tuesday.

In Hyderabad, 21-year old Madhavi from backward goldsmith community was attacked by her father with a sickle on a crowded road Wednesday afternoon. She is battling for her life in a hospital. Her husband, B Sandeep, a Dalit who married her a week ago is recovering from injuries.

Madhavi’s father Manohara Chary told the police that he targeted his daughter because she married a lower caste man against his wish. He was arrested within hours of the incident.