Demand for harshest punishment to killer husband of nine-month-pregnant Andhra woman

Visakhapatnam, April 15 (IANS) Family members of K. Anusha, a nine-month-pregnant woman who was allegedly murdered by her husband, and women's groups on Tuesday demanded the harshest punishment for the culprit.

Women’s groups demanded that the Andhra Pradesh government set up a fast-track court for an expeditious trial in the sensational case.

Members of women’s groups staged a protest near King George Hospital, where an autopsy was conducted on the body of 27-year-old Anusha.

Leaders of the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIU) raised slogans demanding the setting up of a fast-track court and justice for the family of the victim.

They demanded stringent punishment for Gnaneswara Rao and vowed to continue their fight till justice is done. They said the police should ensure that the accused do not come out on bail. The women activists also appealed to lawyers not to argue his case.

Family members and friends of Anusha alleged that Gnaneswara Rao murdered her in a pre-planned manner. They claimed that he delayed taking her to the hospital and strangled her to death while she was asleep.

Gnaneswara Rao committed the crime at their residence at Madhurawada under the PM Palem police station limits early Monday.

According to police, the accused had a love marriage with Anusha in December 2022 and were living in a house near the RTC Depot at Madhurawada.

Gnaneswara Rao runs two fast-food centres, while Anusha had done a hotel management course.

She was supposed to be admitted to the hospital for delivery on Monday morning. However, he informed her relatives that she had collapsed in the house and fallen unconscious. He, along with her relatives, shifted her to a hospital, where she was declared dead.

After Anusha’s family raised doubts about the cause of her death, police interrogated Gnaneswara Rao, and he admitted to the crime.

Police found during the preliminary investigation that Gnaneswara Rao had strangled her to death using a cloth while she was sleeping.

The family members of the Anusha told police that Gnaneswara Rao had been trying to distance himself from Anusha for quite some time.

According to them, he had once told her that he was suffering from cancer and advised her to get a divorce and marry another man. Anusha, however, had refused to leave him.

Though nearly three years had passed since their marriage, Gnaneswara Rao had not introduced his wife to his parents. He was always making an excuse whenever Anusha asked him to take her to his parents.

Anusha had lost her mother during childhood, while her father died four years ago. She had recently called her grandmother to the house to help her.

The deceased’s relatives said Gnaneswara Rao cheated Anusha in the name of love and marriage, and when his plans to abandon her failed, he murdered her.

--IANS

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