Bail in pregnant wife's murder, then a knife ambush in Nizamabad

A 27-year-old man who had been released on bail after his arrest in the killing of his pregnant wife was stabbed to death at a crossroad in Nizamabad on Thursday evening, with investigators treating old enmity as a likely motive.

The victim, Chittari Haribabu, was attacked around 5 p.m. at Raja Rajendra crossroad. According to a Nizamabad police officer, roughly three people arrived in a car, and one of them stepped out, approached Haribabu and struck him with a coconut-shelling knife. He sustained severe injuries and died at the scene.

Haribabu had been living with his mother at Indrapur, within the jurisdiction of the town's V Town police station, for the past few days. The two supported themselves by selling maize bags at the crossroad. On Thursday evening, he had walked to a nearby shop for water when the attack took place.

CCTV cameras in the area recorded the assault, and footage circulating on social media purportedly shows the car halting on the opposite side of the road before an assailant rushes at Haribabu and strikes him repeatedly. He was allegedly attacked about nine times before the man ran back to the vehicle and the group fled.

Police reached the spot after being alerted and moved the body to the Government General Hospital mortuary for a post-mortem examination. The assailants have not yet been identified, and officers said the investigation is examining whether the killing is connected to the death of Haribabu's wife.

Haribabu had been arrested about a year earlier over the murder of his wife Vaishnavi, a YouTuber from Madhapur village in Korutla mandal of Jagtial district. She was four months pregnant at the time. He allegedly slit her throat with a knife and also attacked her hands and forehead. A case was registered following a complaint from Vaishnavi's father, and Haribabu was later granted bail.