Widow defiant after honour killing

Varshini vows to dedicate her life to building a caste-free society

Amrutha Varshini, whose husband was murdered in an ‘honour killing’, has taken her fight against casteism to social media.

Varshini launched a Facebook page ‘Justice for Pranay’ to protest against caste discrimination and said she will dedicate her life to build a “caste-free society”.

Varshini, who hails from an ‘upper class’ Vysya family, married a Dalit-Christian youth Pranay Kumar in January.

In an incident that has sparked public outrage, Kumar, 25, was killed last week in Miryalaguda town of Nalgonda district in Telangana.

Police have arrested Varshini’s father T. Maruti Rao, uncle Shravan and five others on the charge of hiring contract killers to murder Kumar after attempts to separate the couple through threats had failed.

In her first post on the Facebook page Varshini wrote: “Don’t worry Pranay ... [you are] not alone ... Not only me [you] are in the heart of crores of people ... Many people are fighting for justice.”

She appealed to people to cooperate with her in installing a statue of Kumar in Miryalaguda as a symbol of the fight against caste discrimination.