Killed by upper-caste father-in-law, Dalit youth laid to rest; pregnant widow vows to fight caste system

Miryalaguda, Sept 17: Peramalla Pranay Kumar, the 23-year-old Dalit man, who was killed on Friday afternoon, eight months after he married upper caste girl, was laid to rest here on Sunday.

His pregnant wife Amrutha, who was brought home from hospital on Saturday night, was inconsolable.

“I can’t live without him, but I will, for my baby, and to fight against caste system. No one should experience this pain,” said grief-stricken Amrutha, in her fifth month of pregnancy.

‘Betrayal’

Heart-rending scenes were witnessed when Ajay, Pranay’s brother, who is pursuing medicine in Ukraine, arrived for the funeral around about 2.30 p.m.

“What happened to my brother is betrayal. Maruthi Rao (the girl’s father) should be kept in jail,” he Ajay, grieving with his family members Balaswamy, Premalatha and Amrutha.

Pranay’s body was carried in a freezer box along with his family members and relatives on a tractor, and as per Christian customs, and his body was placed in a coffin before burial.

The town came to a standstill with the three-km funeral procession that passed through the town centre and St. Mary’s Church, while ‘Jai Bheem’ and ‘Lal Salaam’ slogans by various student and voluntary organisations rent the air.