Daijiworld Media Network - Amaravati

Amaravati, Apr 5: A police officer in Andhra Pradesh’s Palnadu district has been suspended for his alleged involvement in an honour killing case that has sparked serious concerns over police conduct.

Circle Inspector T. Venkataramana was suspended by District Superintendent of Police Krishna Rao on Sunday after allegations surfaced that he accepted money from the parents of a 22-year-old woman and handed her over to them, despite her having entered into a consensual marriage. The action is believed to have contributed to her subsequent killing.

The victim, Chowdeswari, a resident of Macherla town, was allegedly strangled to death by her father Chandra Sreenu on March 18. The case was initially suspected to be a suicide, but a post-mortem report released on April 4 confirmed it was not.

Chowdeswari had reportedly fallen in love with Nagaraju and married him after eloping on March 4, as her family opposed the relationship and had arranged her marriage elsewhere. Following a missing complaint filed by her father, the couple was traced and brought to the police station.

During the inquiry, Chowdeswari clearly stated that she was a major and had married of her own free will, expressing her desire to live with her husband. However, despite this, police allegedly sent her back with her parents.

Investigators say that days later, her father, along with an accomplice, killed her while she was asleep and attempted to pass it off as suicide. After the post-mortem findings, police took the accused into custody and launched a detailed probe.

The incident has raised serious questions about procedural lapses and accountability, with authorities now examining the role of the suspended officer in the sequence of events leading to the crime.