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Moment Indian husband is hacked to death in front of his pregnant wife in honour killing because he was from a lower caste
• Pranay Kumar, 24, married Amrutha Varshini, 23, in January this year
• She is from the vaishya caste of farmers and merchants, while he is a Dalit Christian meaning he is one of the 'untouchables'
• He was hacked to death with a machete in front of pregnant Amrutha as the pair left a village hospital near the city of Hyderabad last week
• Police are investigating, but Amrutha believes her father and uncle are behind it
Pranay Kumar, 24, was murdered in front of his 23-year-old pregnant wife Amrutha Varshini while leaving a hospital near the city of Hyderabad on Friday last week
The desperate wife could be seen trying to stop the assault as Pranay slumps to the floor, but the man delivers another crushing blow to his head.
The attacker then throws away his machete and walks off as Amrutha runs inside the hospital to summon help for her stricken husband.
Despite medics efforts he succumbed to his injuries a short time afterward.
The pair originally married in January, against the wishes of both of their families.
Pranay married Amrutha back in January against the wishes of both their families because he is from the Dalit - or untouchable - caste, and she is from the higher vaishya caste
Officers are now investigating the murder as an honour killing, while Amrutha has told local media that her father and uncle are behind it
Police were alerted to the marriage after the couple invited several officers to the reception and gave the couple a warning.
Nalgonda Srinivas, deputy superintendent of police, said: 'I had my suspicions about [Amrutha's] father and had warned the couple.
'When they held the reception in August, we gave out notices and had deployed a few police officers at the venue so that nothing bad happened.'
It is thought the killing could have been prompted by Amrutha posting a wedding video of the pair on Facebook.
Amrutha has told local media that she believes her father and uncle were behind the attack. Officers are investigating but have yet to make any arrests.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...r-killing.htmlBrahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras: What is the caste system, and how is the Indian government taking steps to limit caste discrimination?
The Indian caste system is one of the oldest forms of social hierarchies in existence.
Developed over thousands of years, the system relies on karma (work) and dharma (religion) to determine a Hindu's social standing.
The caste system divides Hindus into four main categories - Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and the Shudras.
Top of the tree in the Hindu hierarchy are the Brahmins who traditionally fill the most high-powered jobs.
Kshatriyas, or the warriors and rulers, come second.
Vaishyas, or the traders, and are made up mostly of businessmen and women.
Finally there are the Shudras, considered by some to be the 'working class', who perform many of the menial jobs in society.
Outside the Indian caste system there are the Dalits - or 'untouchables'.
Centuries of tradition have seen caste dictate many aspects of Indian life, including who one can marry and where one can live.
Traditionally, the system bestowed many privileges on the upper castes while sanctioning repression of the lower castes by privileged groups.
Often criticised for being unjust and regressive, it remained virtually unchanged for centuries, trapping people into fixed social orders from which it was impossible to escape.
In 1950 the Indian government brought in measures to ensure greater equality across the caste divide.
Since then it has been illegal to discriminate against a person based on their caste and some jobs even have 'caste quotas'.
In more recent times the caste system's influence has begun to decline in modern urban areas.
There are, however, millions of rural communities across India which still enforce the strict rules dictated by the tradition.
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