Maheshwari (24) alleged that her family had been threatening them for the past weeks and was behind the murder of her husband.
It has been seven weeks since Maheshwari married Adam Smith against her family’s wishes. They moved away from their hometown in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh, fearful of their family’s wrath, and started a new life in the town of Adoni in the same district. On Thursday afternoon, Adam was brutally murdered by two men who came to his neighborhood on bikes. The men hit Adam on the head with metal tubes and then dropped a stone on his head, Adoni police said. Maheshwari has alleged that his family killed Adam and has filed a complaint with the Adoni police.
Adam belonged to the Madiga community, categorized as Programmed Caste (SC), while Maheshwari belongs to the Kuruba BC (Back Class) community. They met in their hometown Gurazala, in Nandavaram mandal of Kurnool district. Maheshwari, who is 24, says that since her family disagreed with her marriage, they left their hometown and got married in Hyderabad. Anticipating a violent response from his family, he says they even sought protection from the police. However, their family continued to threaten them, Maheshwari told the media.
“Because we are of different castes, my family did not agree with our marriage. We went to Hyderabad and got married in Arya Samaj (Mandir) on November 12. From there we went to Kurnool, to the office of the Police Superintendent, and sought protection. They told our family to stay away from us. However, since then, they have been making phone calls and threatening us, ”Maheshwari said. “My father and my uncle killed my husband, by caste,” he added.
A case has been booked against Maheshwari’s father and uncle, Chinna Veeranna and Pedda Veeranna, under Section 302 (Murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), as well as the Scheduled Tribe and Caste Act (Atrocity Prevention ) of 1989 in the police station of the city of Adoni II. Sriramulu, an inspector for Adoni II Town Circle, said the case is still under investigation and no arrests have yet been made.
See: Maheshwari Talks About Threats From His Family After Marriage
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