Ten, including wife and in-laws, get life for Telangana man’s murder

The Principal Sessions Court in Warangal on Thursday (October 15, 2026) sentenced 10 persons, including the wife and in-laws of a man, to life imprisonment for his murder in February 2024.

Principal Sessions Judge V.B. Nirmala Geethamba sentenced Bajjuri Ramesh, Bajjuri Ramyasri, Bajjuri Akhil, Bajjuri Vijaya, Bajjuri Sudhakar, Bajjuri Sheshi, Akuthota Anasurya, Thota Mallikamba, Neerati Sambaiah and Mekala Alekhya.

The case relates to the murder of Dutta Srinivas, whose body was found outside his in-laws’ house at Rangashaipet in Warangal on February 14, 2024.

According to the judgment, Srinivas married Ramyasri in 2015. Differences arose between the couple within a year of their marriage. They subsequently filed several cases against each other and began living separately.

On February 13, 2024, Srinivas went to his in-laws’ house during the Bodrai festival. The court found that the accused dragged him, pushed him against a wall and assaulted him with stones and other objects. He was also strangled.

CCTV footage recovered from a camera installed at the house of one of the accused played a key role in the case. Srinivas’s twin brother identified the accused in the recordings, which were played during the trial. The post-mortem examination established that Srinivas died of strangulation with multiple injuries.

During the trial, the prosecution examined 15 witnesses and submitted 25 exhibits and 10 material objects. Several witnesses turned hostile, while the defence questioned the CCTV footage and the recovery of material objects. However, the court held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.

The court convicted all 10 on October 13 under Sections 143, 144 and 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code. They were acquitted of the criminal conspiracy charge under Section 120B.

Apart from life imprisonment, each convict was fined ₹2,000 for murder. The court also awarded separate sentences of six months and one year under Sections 143 and 144, respectively, with fines of ₹500 each. All sentences will run concurrently.

Speaking to The Hindu, men’s rights activist and Ekam Nyaay Foundation director Deepika Narayan Bhardwaj said Srinivas had been fighting the cases filed against him by his wife.

“It was a very short-lived marriage, but he was implicated in several cases. He was then murdered in the most brutal manner by his wife and in-laws,” she said.

“A strong signal needs to be sent in society that such crimes will not go unpunished,” she said.

“Men in India are not just facing dozens of false cases if marriage doesn’t work out, but are also being brutally killed by wives and in-laws in all parts of the country,” she alleged.

“The way Srinivas was murdered sends chills down the spine. We at Ekam Nyaay Foundation are recording three to four cases of murders of men by their wives, lovers or in-laws every single day,” she added.