The Hindu man who was lynched by his brother-in-law for marrying the latter’s sister on a Hyderabad thoroughfare on 5 May, B Nagaraju (25), had sold his gold chain to be able to shop for Eid for his wife, Syed Ashrin Sulthana.
The human resource manager at the car showroom in the city’s Malakpet area where Nagaraju worked as a sales executive since 9 March, K Satish said he had come to know of his colleague’s marriage only recently, when he told him about the gold chain. “He told me he had sold his gold chain for Rs 25,000 to take his wife to Charminar for Eid shopping,” Satish said.
“He was a very honest and hardworking person… very innocent too. He usually changes into his casual wear before leaving for home, but that evening, he left in his uniform because he was getting late and had to pick up his wife from his sister’s home,” the colleague said.
In the evening of 5 May, Nagaraju and Ashrin were on their way from his sister’s house to their house in Brundavan Colony when they were attacked.
A friend of Nagaraju, Talari Daniah told the press after the murder, “Ashrin’s elder brother Mubin Syed had sworn revenge and the couple were very frightened of him. He was concerned about Ashrin’s safety; so every day, while he went to work, he would drop her at his sister’s house in Saroornagar.”
Police say Ashrin’s elder brother Mubin, a fruit seller, and her relative Masood, who worked as a car mechanic, had started following the tracks of their Hindu brother-in-law right after the couple’s wedding at an Arya Samaj temple on 31 January. On 4 May, they spotted Nagaraju at the showroom where he worked, but could not attack him there, police said.
The Muslim suspects caught up with the couple near the Mandal Revenue Office at Saroornagar, where they attacked them with an iron rod. As the couple fell off their motorcycle, the attackers stabbed Nagaraju multiple times, leaving him dead.
CCTV footage released by police showed Ashrin fighting off a man in a blue shirt, whom she identified to the police as her brother Mubin.
On 6 May, Hyderabad Police said it had arrested the two suspects, Ashrin’s brother Mubin Ahmed Syed and another relative M Masood Ahmed.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sunpreet Singh said that they were applying for the case to be tried in a fast track court.
On 6 May, Telangana Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan sought a detailed report from the state government on the lynching of the Hindu man.
The National Human Rights Commission has taken suo motu cognisance of media reports and sent a notice to the Telangana government and the DGP, seeking a report within four weeks.
The police have recovered the knife and the iron rod used in the attack. Hyderabad Police has sought information from the Mominpet police station in District Vikarabad, where Nagaraju and Ashrin had complained about threats from the woman’s Muslim family.
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