Man hacks sister's husband to death in Nizamabad after his bail in Jagtial murder case
G Santhosh allegedly killed his brother-in-law C Hari Babu in Nizamabad on September 18, two months after Babu was granted bail in the March murder of Santhosh's sister Vaishnavi.
A man in Telangana has been arrested for hacking to death his sister's husband, months after the latter was granted bail in a case accusing him of murdering his wife.
According to the police, G Santhosh had been keeping track of court proceedings in the case against C Hari Babu, who was accused of killing his wife Vaishnavi at their home in Jagtial district in March. Santhosh, the police said, was worried that Babu would secure bail.
Santhosh's wife, Sowjanya, said her husband was angry that the local court was hearing Babu's bail petition and feared that the accused might be released because of gaps in the evidence presented by the police.
Babu was granted bail with conditions on July 20, roughly four months after Vaishnavi's death. Two months later, on September 18, Santhosh allegedly attacked and killed him in neighbouring Nizamabad town.
A family in grief
Sowjanya said her husband changed after Vaishnavi's death, becoming withdrawn and short-tempered. "He was irritated, snapped at our two daughters and me all the time. He ate little, and was always angry," she said, adding that she had approached her father-in-law, who advised giving Santhosh time to cope with the loss.
Vaishnavi, 20, was a YouTuber with more than 50,000 followers. The police said she had returned to her parents' house over Babu's alleged demand for additional dowry, and that Babu came to fetch her and stayed at her residence. Hours before she was killed on March 17, Vaishnavi posted a video announcing she was pregnant. The police said Babu resented her growing popularity online.
Sowjanya said the family affectionately called Vaishnavi "chitti" and that her death devastated several families.
The killing in Nizamabad
After his release on bail, the police said, Babu took precautions to avoid his wife's family in Jagtial and moved to Nizamabad, where he set up a stall selling boiled and roasted corn.
On September 17, he took a bus to visit his mother, who had also been arrested for allegedly harassing her daughter-in-law but was granted bail soon after. Around 5.30 pm, he reached the Shivajinagar area and stopped at a pani puri stall. As he was having water, Santhosh allegedly attacked him.
The police said Santhosh and his friends had been following Babu in a white car. In under a minute, Santhosh allegedly struck more than 10 blows with a sickle on Babu's head and neck, killing him on the spot.
Santhosh later recorded a selfie video confessing to the murder and surrendered to the police. While being taken into custody, he released another video saying that those who agreed with the "justice" he had delivered should help his wife and two daughters with donations.
Sowjanya said she was still coming to terms with what had happened. "Now that he has taken his revenge, and has been arrested, where does that leave me and our two young daughters? What are we supposed to do now?" she asked.