In-laws burn Hyderabad techie over ‘black magic’ suspicion

A 38-year old software engineer who travelled from Hyderabad to Balwanthapur, around 180 km from the Telangana capital, to call on the widow of his wife’s recently deceased brother was tied to a chair and burnt to death — presumably on the suspicion that he had used black magic to kill the brother.

The police believe that more than one person may have been responsible for the killing, and the needle of suspicion is on the brother’s family and relatives.

The incident happened at a house within the premises of Manjunatha temple located on the outskirts of Balwanthapur village in Malyala block. The deceased was identified as Pagilla Pavan Kumar, a resident of Alwal on the outskirts of Hyderabad. Kumar was employed with a software company based in Bengaluru but had been staying in his hometown Hyderabad for some time now.

According to the police, Kumar, along with wife Krishnaveni, came to Balwanthapur to call on the family of his brother-in-law Jagan (38) who died of heart attack 12 days ago. The couple paid floral tributes to the portrait of Jagan and consoled his wife Sumalatha.

“At around 7.30 pm, we received a call from the local people that a person was in flames in a room locked from outside and was screaming for help. We rushed to the spot and broke open the door of the room. We found Kumar tied to a chair and completely burnt. He died instantaneously,” Mallyal sub-inspector of police Nagaraju told Hindustan Times.

Krishnaveni complained to the police that Sumalatha sent her to fetch a bottle of water. “By the time I returned, my husband was locked up inside the room and was screaming while being burnt alive.”

Nagaraju said it was a clear case of murder, as Kumar was tied to a chair, doused with petrol and burnt to death. “Moreover, the room was locked from outside. So, we booked a case under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and are investigating.”

“We are questioning all the suspects and will crack the case soon,” he added. No arrests had been made till Tuesday evening.

Krishnaveni told the police that there were some differences between her brother and husband and that Sumalatha suspected that Kumar might have performed black magic, resulting in Jagan’s death.